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Brazilian firms win more fuel terminals

  • : Oil products
  • 19/04/09

Brazilian firms bid aggressively today for one greenfield and five brownfield fuel terminals in the northern state of Para, raising around R448mn ($116mn) in signing bonuses.

The winners include some of the same domestic companies that picked up four terminals in a 22 March fuel terminal auction.

State-controlled Petrobras, Ipiranga and Cosan-Shell joint venture Raizen remained a driving force behind today's auction

Tequimar, the fuel tanking subsidiary of Brazilian conglomerate Ultra Group, sat out last month's offer, but today pledged a winning R180.5mn signing bonus for the greenfield Vila do Conde terminal.

The area is suitable for 4mn t/yr of new storage capacity, according to Antaq. The terminal lease runs for an initial 25 years with an optional extension for up to 70 years.

The five brownfield terminals awarded today are located at the Miramar chemicals port complex in Belem. The winners already operate around 207,000m³ of combined storage capacity at the port.

Ipirianga, one of Brazil's largest fuel distributors, pledged R87mn for the BEL 04 terminal. Fuel storage capacity is projected grow to 864,000 m³/yr over the life of the lease, also with an initial 15-year period and the option for extension up to 70 years.

Petroleo Sabba, part of the Raizen group, pledged R60mn for BEL 02B. Consorcio Latitude, comprised of Ipiranga and Petroleo Sabba, pledged R40mn for the BEL 02A terminal. The two areas have initial 15-year leases with the possibility of extensions for up to 70 years.

Petrobras' fuel distribution subsidiary Petrobras Distribuidora (BR) won the BEL 08 terminal with a signing bonus of R50mn, and the firm's transport subsidiary Transpetro picked up the BEL 09 terminal with a winning bid of R30mn. The leases for the areas have an initial 20-year term with the option to extend up to 70 years. Storage capacity at BEL 09 is expected to grow to 530,000 t/yr with a focus on LPG.

The total investment for the six terminals is estimated at around R430mn, according to Brazilian waterways regulator Antaq.

"In each of the auctions, our expectations were exceeded," Brazil's infrastructure minister Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas said today, adding that the areas are key to ensuring fuel supply in Brazil's north, northeast and center-west regions.

With today's auction, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro met his administration's goal of auctioning 23 concessions during the first 100 days of his term that started in January.

Despite struggles with other reforms such as pensions, the government has already held successful auctions for airports, seaports, highways and railways.

The government is currently finalizing concession terms for other fuel terminals in Santos and Paranagua ports for auction later this year, government officials said today.

With no new refining capacity planned before 2023 at the earliest, Brazil will continue to rely on fuel imports well into the next decade. The government's infrastructure plan reflects the need for greater import capacity to meet projected demand growth.

Opening Brazil's ports has been under discussion since 2013, but only gained traction in the final weeks of former president Michel Temer's two-year term.

Brazil fuel terminals

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24/09/18

Citgo auction result delayed amid last-minute motions

Citgo auction result delayed amid last-minute motions

Houston, 18 September (Argus) — The US court-appointed special master overseeing the auction of US refiner Citgo plans to object to a last-minute motion from the Venezuelan government to delay the sale process by four months. The Republic of Venezuela and state-owned oil company PdV filed a motion on Tuesday seeking a four-month pause in the sale of its refining subsidiary Citgo, which is being auctioned off to satisfy debts owed by PdV. Special master Robert Pincus said in a court filing today that he intends to object to Venezuela's motion for a pause. The last-minute motion from Venezuela comes days after the US District Court for the District of Delaware was expected to announce results of the winning bidder. The court asked for a second extension to the auction process in August, delaying announcing a successful bidder to on or about 16 September with a sale hearing on 7 November. But Pincus is now dealing with last-minute legal challenges filed last week outside of the Delaware courts by so-called "alter ego" claimants seeking to "circumvent" the Delaware court's sales process and "jump the line" for enforcing claims against PdV, the special master said in a filing last week. Bidders for Citgo's 804,000 b/d of refining capacity, terminals, retail fuel stations and other plants expect the assets to be sold free and clear of future claims by PdV creditors. Unresolved legal liabilities could lower the value bidders are willing to pay for Citgo, decreasing the pool of money available to those owed by PdV. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

USCG updates ongoing lower Mississippi restrictions


24/09/17
24/09/17

USCG updates ongoing lower Mississippi restrictions

Houston, 17 September (Argus) — The US Coast Guard (USCG) will further limit northbound movement for barges transiting the lower Mississippi River despite slightly higher water levels following Hurricane Francine's landfall late last week. The USCG announced on 16 September that all northbound traffic traveling from Tunica, Mississippi, to Tiptonville, Tennessee, can only have five barges wide and only four of those can be loaded. Barges also cannot be loaded deeper than 9.5ft. Any southbound traffic from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Tunica cannot move more than seven barges wide or be drafted deeper than 10.5ft. Southbound traffic from Tiptonville to Tunica can only be six barges wide or less and cannot have a draft greater than 10ft. The USCG has updated lower Mississippi river draft restrictions about four times since the end of August, but this is the third year in a row of notable low water for the fall on the lower Mississippi river which has triggered draft restrictions to arrive more quickly than previous years. Hurricane Francine brought significant rainfall to the lower Mississippi at the end of last week . But this has not eased the minds of mariners, who anticipate the water may leave as quickly as it arrived. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

California regulator floats future LCFS linkage


24/09/17
24/09/17

California regulator floats future LCFS linkage

Monterey, 17 September (Argus) — California would welcome bringing US low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) programs together in a common market, one of the state's top regulators said on Tuesday. Such a linkage is unlikely to occur in the near future, but California Air Resources Board (CARB) deputy executive director Rajinder Sahota said it is something worth pursuing. "I totally think we should link our LCFS programs," she said at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS and Carbon Markets Summit in Monterey, California. Sahota said California and other LCFS states are working on a system that could allow the trading of compliance credits between companies covered by each program, but did not provide any other details. Her comments mark a change in tenor from CARB, which historically has said a linkage would be difficult given the differing starting points and carbon intensity targets of each program. Oregon's Clean Fuels Program (CFP) started five years after California's LCFS, while Washington launched its Clean Fuel Standard just last year. New Mexico is working on its own program that will begin by 2026. Oregon and Washington regulators at the conference said there have not been any formal discussions about a linkage, but did not completely dismiss the idea, highlighting the close informal coordination between the states. "All puzzles can be solved eventually," said Bill Peters, interim director of the CFP. By Michael Ball Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

California still eyeing 2025 start to LCFS changes


24/09/17
24/09/17

California still eyeing 2025 start to LCFS changes

Monterey, 17 September (Argus) — California regulators plan to propose changes to the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in coming days in hopes of ensuring updates to the program take effect in early 2025. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will soon issue a new rulemaking package for a 15-day public comment period, Rajinder Sahota, the agency's deputy executive officer, said today at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit in Monterey, California. "We will be working very hard to ensure we have the targets in place" by 1Q, she said. On a practical level, CARB will have to adopt any amendments to the LCFS by early January or will be forced to start over. California law requires the agency to wrap up a rulemaking within 12 months of the first proposal. Sahota declined to say what changes, if any, to the most recent language would be part of the next 15-day package. The previous language included a 9pc "step down" in the carbon intensity requirement in 2025 and also contemplated a 20pc/yr cap on a company's credit generation from soybean- and canola-oil-based biodiesel or renewable diesel to begin in 2028. That new language "is coming very shortly," she said. The agency's board is scheduled to hold a hearing on the proposed changes on 8 November and could adopt the new language at that session. The LCFS requires yearly reductions in the carbon intensity of on-road transportation fuels. Fuels with scores above the targets produce deficits, which must be offset with credits generated from distribution to the market of approved, lower-carbon alternatives. California currently requires a 20pc drop in carbon intensity by 2030. The ongoing rulemaking could bump that carbon intensity reduction up to 30pc. Surging use of renewable diesel and outsized credit generation from renewable natural gas have overwhelmed deficit generation to create a glut of credits available for future compliance. LCFS credits do not expire, and 26.1mn metric tonnes of credits — 16pc more than all the new deficits generated in 2023 — were available for future compliance by the end of March. Credits fell in May to trade at $40/t, the lowest level for current quarter credits since June 2015, but have since rebounded as the CARB process has played out. But credit prices are still well below their historical highs. Argus on Monday assessed spot LCFS credits at $58/t. By Michael Ball Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Indonesia issues regulation to build energy reserves


24/09/17
24/09/17

Indonesia issues regulation to build energy reserves

A strategic energy reserve comprising stocks of LPG, oil and gasoline could be ready by 2035 under a presidential decree, writes Prethika Nair Singapore, 17 September (Argus) — Indonesia's government has issued a presidential decree outlining plans to build strategic energy reserves, including LPG, by 2035. The decree sets out the goal of establishing stockpiles amounting to 9.64mn bl of gasoline, 10.17mn bl of oil and 525,800t of LPG within the next 11 years. "The government is aware of the importance of having sufficient energy reserves to handle risks such as global oil price fluctuations, natural disasters, or supply disruptions," Indonesian agency the National Energy Council's (NEC) secretary general, Djoko Siswanto, said on 6 September. "The provision of the [reserves] will be carried out in stages until 2035, according to the country's financial capabilities." Funds for establishing the reserves will come from the state budget and other legitimate resources, he said. The NEC will oversee the regulations while the energy ministry and companies with permits in the energy sector will manage the reserves, according to Djoko. Management includes procurement of supplies from domestic production or imports, as well as investment in infrastructure and maintenance, and the use and recovery of the reserves. The location of the reserves will be based on local geology, ease of distribution, spatial planning, supporting infrastructure and the potential for crises or emergencies, and where infrastructure is not sufficient, new facilities will be built, Djoko said. Indonesia aims to reach 1mn b/d of oil production and 12bn ft³/d (124bn m³/yr) of gas production by 2030. But its oil output fell to 606,000 b/d in 2023 from 612,000 b/d in 2022, energy ministry data show. The country's LPG imports amounted to about 6mn t in 2023, energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia says. This contrasts with imports of just over 7mn t, relatively unchanged from a year earlier, Kpler data show. The country imported around 369,000 b/d of gasoline and 29,000 b/d of crude. The energy ministry in August announced plans to boost oil and gas output by reactivating up to 1,500 idle wells, drilling more than 1,000 new wells a year and increasing recovery rates at existing wells to 50pc from 30pc. Indonesia gas production Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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