El Paso generator project awaits new regulations

US oil and gas company El Paso is waiting for Brazil to announce a new electric model to develop a US$160mn, 200MW gas-fired power generator in the northeastern state of Bahia, the company's oil and gas commercialization manager, Edson Real, said Friday. "The construction is dependent on the regulation and not on infrastructure," he said during a workshop the company promoted on Brazil's natural gas market. The company currently runs eight thermal generators in the country with an installed capacity of 2000MW. Real said the plant would be built close to the coast and the gas would come from El Paso's own offshore reserves recently discovered in the Camamu oil field. The new power would be delivered through the existing electricity grid in the region. The plant would boost thermo production in the power-strapped northeastern region by about 10% from the current installed 2,056MW. Of Brazil's 84,000MW generation capacity, about 84% comes from hydroelectric plants and about 10% comes from thermo generation. Many companies are putting investments on hold in Brazil while the government prepares new far-reaching regulations to restructure the system in a bid to attract private investment and increase supply. The new rules will be announced by year-end, local press reported.