ANP hires consultant for natural gas study

Brazil's state oil regulatory agency ANP has contracted Argentine consortium Strat Consulting and R. Garcia Consultores to draw up a study of a development model for the country's natural gas industry, an ANP spokesperson confirmed to BNamericas. As well as Strat, three other consortia had presented bids: Accenture do Brasil and Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA); Arthur D Little and Expetro Consultoria Internacional em Petroleo e Gas; and Booz Allen & Hamilton do Brasil Consultores and Vieira, Rezende, Barbosa e Guerreiro Advogados. Start will receive 3.3mn reais (about US$1.1mn) to complete the study under a 15-month deadline. Brazil's natural gas market has significant obstacles to develop because of an inadequate regulatory framework, specialists say. Only 13 million cu. m. of natural gas of the potential 30 million cu. m. is being imported from Bolivia. Obstacles being negotiated with Bolivian counterparts include making delivery more flexible and the high cost of the product compared to other energy sources. The ANP says that its goal when hiring consultants is to increase the role of natural gas on the country's power grid to 10% of the total in 10 years from the current 3% it occupies. In related news, Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva continues to insist in nominating a political appointee to head up the ANP. After the rejection of Luiz Alfredo Salomao by the Senate, the president has chosen Haroldo Lima, a former congressman and member of Brazil's communist party (PC do B). Jose Eduardo Dutra, the president of state oil company Petrobras, downplayed the nomination of political allies. "[Lima] has the capacity to occupy any government position; he is an engineer who knows the sector like few others," Dutra was quoted as saying.