PRIO starts trading gas

02 Jan 2025

PRIO announced today (2) that it has officially started trading gas directly to the market. The initial operation, with a production of around 300,000 m³/day, will use the Campos Basin Integrated Flow System (SIE‑BC) and will be transformed into different products at the Cabiúnas Natural Gas Processing Unit (UTGCAB), both infrastructures operated by Petrobras and, ultimately, will be traded with different companies. Once sold, the product is transported through two transportation networks that originate in Cabiúnas, Macaé, TAG and NTS.

The company’s strategy aims to ensure continuous flow without affecting oil production. According to Gustavo Hooper, Head of Trading and Shipping at PRIO, the area has been talking to several agents such as industries, distributors and gas-fired thermal power plants to build a portfolio that guarantees flow security with the highest return for the company.

“As well as trading our own gas, we are ready to trade that of other companies and open to working with all companies in the industry. For us, this is an opportunity to open up to a promising market by having access to the network that brings Natural Gas to many regions of Brazil. Creating the trading company to access the free market for natural gas and its derivatives was an important strategic decision for PRIO: it combines the moment when production is growing significantly and the market is booming,” says Hooper.

Natural gas production is expected to reach over 1 million m³/day with the start-up of the Wahoo field in Espírito Santo, scheduled for this year. The project, which will be the largest subsea tieback in Latin America, is also expected to produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day and generate over R$ 3 billion in royalties for the state of Espírito Santo and the Federal Government. Even before production started in Wahoo, more than R$ 1 billion had already been generated in the local economy, reinforcing the project’s positive impact on the domestic energy sector.