MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petrobras makes huge natural gas discovery in the Sergipe basin

According to O Estado, the find could help deliver the “cheap energy shock” to Brazil promised by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes

Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras has made natural gas discoveries in six deep-water fields in the Sergipe Basin, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

Petrobras said it is now looking at drawing up a budget plan to finance production from the potential wells that were discovered “in the last few years.”

Newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo reported on Sunday that the find was the largest since the sub-salt discoveries in 2006, and that Petrobras could extract up to 20 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, equivalent to one third of total Brazilian production.

According to O Estado, the find could help deliver the “cheap energy shock” to Brazil promised by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, his vision to reduce the cost of natural gas by up to 50% and “reindustrialize” the country.

Likewise Petrobras announced it concluded the sale of gas pipeline system TAG to a group led by France’s Engie SA and Canada’s Caisse De Depot Et Placement Du Quebec (CDPQ).

According to a securities filing, Petrobras said it received a total of 33.5 billion reais (US$ 8.69 billion) from buyers last Thursday for the 90% stake it had in TAG. The announcement follows a decision last week by Brazil’s Supreme Court clearing the deal.