Golar Power forms Partnership with BR Distribuidora
19 February 2020 - 1:02AM
Golar Power Limited (“Golar Power”) and
Petrobras Distribuidora S.A. (“BR Distribuidora”) announce today
the formation of a Partnership for the development of an LNG
distribution businesses in Brazil. The intention is to
introduce liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) as an alternative to the
fuels currently available to Brazil’s cargo and people
transportation, industrial, thermoelectric generation, commercial
and residential sectors.
Both Golar Power and BR Distribuidora believe
that LNG is an innovative and potentially disruptive solution for
the transportation sector in Brazil that delivers environmental
benefits as well as important economic gains for customers, society
and for Brazil as a whole. Formation of this Partnership coincides
with the opening up of Brazil’s natural gas sector and a thirst
from society for cheaper, cleaner and more efficient alternatives
to the fuels currently on offer.
Partnering BR Distribuidora's infrastructure and
experience in the fuel distribution sector with Golar Power’s LNG
industry experience is expected to facilitate the rapid development
and penetration of small-scale LNG solutions across the
country.
With more than four decades of experience in the
fuel distribution sector, a national network of more than 7,600
fuel stations, 95 Bases of Supply, Operation and Distribution,
recognition for the size and reach of its activities, for its
presence in all regions of Brazil, for having a “Top of Mind” brand
of great credibility and for its innovation and pioneering spirit
as the first to commercialize ethanol and to sell compressed
natural gas, BR Distribuidora can legitimately claim to be Brazil’s
leading fuel distribution company. Consistent with this pioneering
spirit and in line with an aspiration to be at the forefront of a
changing energy market and being able to offer the energy that
society needs to get around, BR Distribuidora was already
evaluating opportunities to operate in the LNG distribution
business in Brazil.
Golar Power, a 50/50 Joint Venture between Golar
LNG Limited (“Golar”) (NASDAQ: GLNG) and the North American
investment fund Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners has an important
presence in the LNG chain in Brazil. Having operated in the LNG
sector for over four decades itself and in Brazil for over a
decade, Golar has extensive LNG experience and is also recognized
for its capacity for innovation in the industry - being a pioneer
in the development, implementation and operation of floating LNG
storage and regasification units "FSRUs", and more recently in
floating liquefaction "FLNG". Golar Power has been working on
further integrating the LNG value chain, including the development
of a small-scale LNG distribution market, providing technical
solutions focused on cost and risk reduction. Golar, together with
its affiliates, is one of the largest owners and operators of
intermediate “midstream” marine LNG infrastructure, with a fleet of
27 vessels, including LNG carriers, FSRUs and FLNGs. In Brazil,
Golar Power and its partners are developing the country’s largest
natural gas-fired thermoelectric plant, with an installed capacity
of 1.55 GW, and an associated LNG regasification terminal in
Sergipe. Golar Power was also the winner of the 2019 A-6
Electricity Auction, which contemplates the construction of a new
605MW LNG supplied thermoelectric plant in the state of Pará
together with a dedicated LNG terminal with the potential to supply
a region with the largest potential for energy growth in
Brazil.
The partnership between Golar Power and BR
Distribuidora foresees the use of the entire network of gas
stations and supply bases of BR Distribuidora as well as Golar
Power's LNG terminals and ships to facilitate the comprehensive
rollout of LNG supply to Brazil’s transportation and industrial
sectors, particularly in regions not supplied by gas pipelines.
BR Distribuidora, being a major user of road
transport itself, also intends to replace its currently hired fleet
of approximately 5,000 trucks with vehicles that use LNG. To this
end, BR will seek to gradually replace its diesel truck fleet with
LNG-powered trucks, with the ultimate goal that 20% of the total
fleet will be replaced annually with LNG trucks.
Eduardo Antonello, Golar Power CEO comments: “We
believe in LNG as the only viable fuel to replace diesel, LPG and
HFO globally. The abundance of natural gas supply over the long
term and the price parity in relation to diesel and LPG, make LNG a
real alternative - cheaper, cleaner and more effective in
transportation and industrial use. Over the past few years, we have
been working on the basic infrastructure to make a project of this
scale feasible, and now we will have a robust partner that allows
the penetration of a disruptive solution in a country of
continental dimensions like Brazil. We are extremely satisfied with
this partnership that has been in the making for some time and
promises to be something truly transformational.”
Hamilton, Bermuda
February 18, 2020
Enquiries:
Golar Management Limited: + 44 207 063 7900
Eduardo Maranhao
Stuart Buchanan
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