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This move raises
questions about
Petrobras’ plans for the
Bahia LNG facility.

Petrobras disqualifies Golar Power

from Bahia LNG terminal lease tender

PROJECTS & BERMUDA-REGISTERED Golar Power is plans for the facility. According to the NOC’s
COMPANIES already a player in Brazil’s LNG sector, and it statement, Golar was the only company to sub-
has been trying to expand its footprint in that mit a binding offer for the lease contract. One
country by bidding for the right to operate an of two other potential investors – Compass Gás
underutilised LNG import terminal in Bahia e Energia, a local firm – declined to bid. Mean-
State. while, the other – BP Energy do Brasil, a sub-
However, the company’s ambitions have been sidiary of BP (UK) – has asked for more time to
thwarted by reports of CEO Eduardo Antonel- finalise its offer. According to the
lo’s involvement in bribery charges. Petrobras, Petrobras called a tender for the Bahia LNG
the national oil company (NOC) of Brazil, has lease about two months ago, saying it would NOC’s statement,
declined to accept an offer from a Golar subsidi- welcome offers from any of the nine entities that
ary to lease the Bahia LNG terminal, citing con- had been pre-qualified to participate. It may now Golar was the
cerns about excessive risk. have to launch a new bidding contest.
State-owned Petrobras announced its The conditions of the current tender provide only company to
decision last week, saying in a statement that for the top bidder to negotiate a leasing contract submit a binding
Golar Power Comercializador de Gás Natural for the Bahia LNG terminal, which is capable
had effectively been disqualified on technical of importing and regasifying the equivalent of offer for the lease
grounds, owing to questions about compli- 20mn cubic metres (mcm) per day of LNG. The
ance. “In the scope of the stages of (i) verifica- contract will also cover a 45-km pipeline that contract.
tion of effectiveness, in order to guarantee the runs from terminal facilities in the port of Bahia
alignment with the requirements of the Public to exit points in São Francisco do Conde and São
Notice; and (ii) qualification, the integrity/com- Sebastião do Passé, but it will not include access
pliance requirements were verified, having been to the Excelerate Experience, a floating storage
assigned a high Risk Grade of Integrity (RGI) for and regasification unit (FSRU) that Petrobras has
the company Golar Power Comercializador de installed at the port.
Gás Natural, implying its disqualification from The Bahia terminal has been operating below
the contest based on items 5.1.1 and 10.6.4 of capacity for some time. According to data from
the Bidding Process Call,” the NOC said in a Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry, it regasified
statement. the equivalent of just 4.34 mcm per day of natu-
This move raises questions about Petrobras’ ral gas in the first four months of 2020.™

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 40 09•October•2020