Petrobras delays gas pipeline maintenance

Brazilian state energy company Petrobras has pushed back routine maintenance on a gas pipeline from the Santos Basin by a fortnight, it said August 13.

The company said the delay, from August 15 to August 29. was due to unscheduled maintenance on another nearby gas pipeline but that customers would not be affeced. They would receive their contracted volumes as Petrobras would increase regasification capacity.

In fact the new schedule was an improvement from the market's point of view since it means customers will experience a shorter period of higher prices and lower volumes, the company explained. Some of the gas is also destined for power generation.

The company stressed that it would ensure the market was well supplied during scheduled maintenance on the pipeline through the expansion of capacity at various regasification terminals for LNG, in one case by as much as 50%.

Petrobras added that, according to its contracts, scheduled maintenance can last up to 30 days, though the change of plans means that it could, if necessary, be cut to as little as 16 days.