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Since the US-based company had previously and regasifying the equivalent of 20mn cubic
signed a declaration expressing its acceptance metres per day of LNG. Petrobras has described
of the terms of the tender as stated, from the the terminal as “an island-type pier with all the
outset and with no changes, its bid violated that necessary facilities for mooring a FSRU (floating
pledge, it explained. Petrobras gave Excelerate storage and regasification unit) ship directly to
an opportunity to rescind the extra condition, the pier and a supply ship on the port side of the
but the latter company did not agree to do so, FSRU.”
it reported. The proposed lease would also have covered
It also noted that Excelerate had the right to assets associated with the terminal – namely, a
appeal against its disqualification. The company 45-km pipeline that runs from terminal facil-
has until June 28 to exercise that right, it said. ities in the port of Bahia to exit points in São
Excelerate submitted the only offer for the Francisco do Conde and São Sebastião do
Bahia LNG lease contract. It had been one of Passé, along with power-generating facilities
nine parties pre-qualified to participate in the in the Madre de Deus Waterway Terminal
tender. The others were Bermuda-registered (TEMADRE).
Golar LNG, another international firm that However, it would not have included access
specialises in LNG, along with three Brazilian to the Excelerate Experience, a floating storage
firms (namely, Compass Gas and Energy, a new and regasification unit (FSRU) that Petrobras
Brazilian gas transport and distribution com- has installed at the port of Bahia. ™
pany set up by the Cosan industrial group, and
two Brazilian gas distributors, Bahiagas and
Naturgy) and four vertically integrated interna-
tional oil companies (IOCs) – BP (UK), Repsol
(Spain), Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands)
and Total (France).
This was the second time that Petrobras has
tried to tender the Bahia LNG contract. The first
attempt failed last year, when the NOC deter-
mined that none of the offers it had received
were valid, and the second bidding contest was
launched in February 2021.
The winner of the second tender would have
had the right to negotiate a lease contract for the
Bahia terminal, which is capable of importing Bahia LNG regasification terminal (Photo: Petrobras)

BOLIVIA
Petrobras successfully appeals ruling on

San Antonio gas field in Bolivia

PETROBRAS, the national oil company (NOC) evidence showing that that the land in question
of Brazil, revealed last week that its appeal of a was owned by the family that had initiated the
court decision concerning the ownership of lawsuit.
a large natural gas field in Bolivia had been As such, Petrobras is no longer obligated by
successful. the lower court’s order to pay the family the sum
In a statement, Petrobras reported that Boliv- of $61.14mn in damages, it said.
ia’s Sucre Agro-Environmental Court had ruled The Brazilian company’s accounts in Bolivia
in its favour, overturning the verdict issued ear- have been frozen since last month, pending the
lier this year by a lower court. The NOC has been outcome of the appeal. Presumably the freeze
seeking to overturn the first ruling, in which the can now be lifted.
lower court declared the family of Maria del Petrobras is a shareholder in the San Antonio
Rosario Vacaflor Lahore to be the owner of a and San Alberto fields in Bolivia. A significant
portion of San Antonio, one of the two largest portion of the gas extracted from these two sites
gas fields assigned to its local subsidiary, Petro- is delivered to Brazil via the Gasbol pipeline. The
bras Bolivia (PEB). NOC has said it intends to sell off its stake in
According to the statement, the Sucre Transportadora Gasoduto Bolivia-Brasil (TBG),
Agro-Environmental Court ruled in Petro- the owner and operator of the Brazilian section
bras’ favour after determining that there was no of the Gasbol system.

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