The average negotiated price was $4.20 per million BTUs for delivery in May 2009, and $4.25 per million BTUs for delivery in June 2009. The price of the natural gas traded in the auction, for supply in May 2009, was 36% below the average natural gas price negotiated in the agreements currently in effect. Insofar as the average price traded in the auction for delivery in June 2009 is concerned, the reduction was 35%.
Volumes of natural gas foreseen in the existing agreements with state distributors and currently not being negotiated by these companies with their final consumers were offered in this auction. The volume of natural gas traded in this auction will not affect the supply to the thermoelectric market if dispatches to the National Electric System Operator (NSO) become necessary.
Sixteen distributors, located in the four submarkets, made purchases in the auction and had their demands fully met, with pricing formed by the companies themselves. The submarkets were defined based on logistics availability for natural gas delivery. The first submarket was formed by the states of Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, and Pernambuco; the second by Bahia, Alagoas, and Sergipe; the third by Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, and part of the state of Sao Paulo; and the fourth by Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, Santa Catarina, and part of Sao Paulo. The auction, which started at 11am and was wrapped-up at 12:30 pm, was carried out by means of a virtual platform developed for this negotiation model.
Petrobras reasserts that by holding this natural gas auction for a more competitive price, it is focusing on the final consumer seeking to speed-up the resumption of natural gas consumption, particularly in the industrial segment.
The company also announced that it will continue following-up on the evolution of the market in order to hold new auctions in a timely manner.
