Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Natural Gas Country Notes

Brazil's natural gas industry is relatively small at present compared with its oil sector. Proved reserves, as reported by the Brazilian WEC Member Committee, amount to 306 bcm and are the fifth largest in South America, having increased by 29% over the past 3 years. The level of reserves reported corresponds with the category 'measured/indicated/inventoried' in the Balanço Energético Nacional (BEN) 2006, published by the Ministério de Minas e Energia. Of the latest assessment of proved recoverable reserves, approximately 25% is non-associated with crude oil. Additional recoverable reserves, not classified as proved, (corresponding with 'inferred/estimated' resources in the BEN) are put at just over 148 bcm.

Nearly one-third of current gross production of natural gas is either re-injected or flared. Marketed production is mostly used as industrial fuel or as feedstock for the production of petrochemicals and fertilisers. As a consequence of Brazil's huge hydroelectric resources, use of natural gas as a power station fuel had been minimal until fairly recently. The consumption picture is now changing as imported gas (from Bolivia and Argentina) fuels the increasing number of gas-fired power plants that are being built in Brazil.

The use of CNG by road vehicles is now a significant feature of the gas market.