Petrobras Projects a Decade of Gas Supply in Colombia and Negotiates the Repurchase of Mataripe

Petrobras stated on August 7 that its three deep-water gas discoveries in Colombia have the capacity to cover the country's entire gas demand for more than a decade. CEO Magda Chambriard presented the figure alongside second-quarter results: net income of R$52,400 million, 97% higher than a year earlier.

The discoveries are in Colombian Caribbean waters, where Petrobras operates the block with a 44.4% stake and Ecopetrol holds the remainder. The most recent was announced on August 3 and is the third discovery from the partnership. Chambriard said the project is in public consultations for environmental authorization, called it of interest to Colombia, Brazil, and both companies, and set a target of supplying 100% of the country's gas consumption, with the option to export. The Brazilian oil company has long sought foreign projects to strengthen its reserves, a strategy now extended to Mexico.

On Mexico, Chambriard said work with Pemex is advancing on two fronts: exploration and production in shallow, deep, and ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and refining, with possible use of ethanol, biodiesel, and co-processed diesel. The memorandum of understanding for the first front is already signed and non-binding; the one for the second is pending signature. On the refining side, Petrobras is in negotiations to repurchase the Mataripe refinery, sold to Acelen, Mubadala's energy division, in 2021. Chambriard said she will expand the company's refinery portfolio "with or without Mataripe" and set a target of covering 100% of Brazil's diesel demand between 2027 and 2031. Separately, the company announced investments of R$37,000 million (US$7,400 million) in the state of São Paulo through 2030, according to Diario Financiero.

To watch: the environmental authorization of the Colombia gas project and the price that will determine the Mataripe repurchase, which Chambriard conditioned on an adequate asset valuation. The next signal will be the signing of the refining memorandum with Pemex.

This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.