LatAmOil: Tradener makes Brazil’s first private deal for Bolivian gas

Tradener has become the first privately owned Brazilian firm to buy natural gas directly from Bolivia, without the national oil company (NOC) Petrobras acting as an intermediary.

In a statement, Tradener said it had signed a contract with YPFB, Bolivia’s NOC, for the purchase of 2.2mn cubic metres per day of gas over a period of two years. It did not reveal the financial terms of the deal but said it would be able to import gas via the Gasbol pipeline and deliver it to any customer served by the Gasbol system, including thermal power plants (TPPs) as well as industrial facilities.

Until recently, state-owned Petrobras was the only organisation in Brazil that had the right to buy gas directly from Bolivia and then sell it directly to customers. Under reforms adopted last year, though, private traders may now procure up to 2.2 mcm per day on their own, and Tradener is the first to take advantage of the opportunity.