Petrobras signs three-year pre-salt gas commercialization deal

Petrobras signed a three-year agreement with state firm Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) to commercialize the federal government's share of pre-salt natural gas. Under the pact, Petrobras will act as the commercial trading agent for the Union's volumes, enabling PPSA to sell firm natural gas volumes directly via auctions.

The contract includes purchase and sale transactions of both rich gas and processed gas between the two companies. Rich gas refers to the raw output extracted from pre-salt fields before passing through processing units, while processed gas has already completed that stage. PPSA has already reported the conclusion of the talks to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

The agreement coincided with an announcement by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) launching a public consultation on the first gas auction by PPSA, planned for October. The National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE) had approved guidelines for the auction at the end of July. PPSA plans to publish the draft auction notice in the coming days.

PPSA already markets the government's pre-salt crude oil cargoes in auctions, but required an agreement with Petrobras to do the same with gas. Market sources had raised concerns over alleged ministry interference in an ANP administrative proceeding tied to the negotiations, though the MME denied any interference.