25-04-07 Petroleo Brasileiro, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, signed an initial agreement to buy liquefied natural gas from Nigeria and is seeking supplies from other nations to reduce dependence on Bolivian gas.
The LNG would be supplied through two or three re-gasification ships off the coast that would provide fuel for power plants when it's needed, Ildo Sauer, the gas and energy director at Petrobras, told at a conference in Barcelona. The ships will act as temporary floating import terminals, he said.

Brazil gets more than 90 % of its electricity from hydroelectric plants. The LNG imports will be used in dry seasons or shipped elsewhere when they're not needed.
“To have flexible supply is interesting,” Sauer said at the LNG15 conference. “We think this is a very creative solution that allows us flexibility, allows us safety, security of supply, and especially is the most economic option.”

Petrobras, based in Rio de Janeiro, signed a contract to lease two re-gasification ships from Golar LNG, a Bermuda-based shipping company, for $ 90 mm a year. It's in talks for a third ship.
The first ship will be available in March 2008 and the second in March 2009, providing as much as 21 mm cmpd of gas import capacity, Sauer said. The third ship would take capacity to 35 mm cm of gas a day, he said.

Nigerian cargoes
Petrobras signed a “master sales agreement” with Nigeria for spot cargoes of LNG that may become available from the West African nation, Sauer said. The company is also in talks on firm contract supplies from other countries, he said.
Petrobras plans to charter the vessels for LNG shipping during the Northern Hemisphere winter, when they won't be needed in Brazil, Sauer said. If the company signs firm LNG purchase contracts, it may re-direct LNG to Europe and the US during their winter, he said.

The Brazilian market will most likely need LNG from May to November, while the European, US and Japanese markets typically need more LNG from November to March, Sauer said.
“It's a new concept which takes advantage of the specific characteristics of the Brazilian electric power market, based on hydro, and combines it with the European and North American markets,” Sauer said. “In a sense, we are in the forefront to develop a better and flexible arbitrage in the Atlantic market for LNG.”