Brazil's PRIO seeks more capacity in Petrobras gas pipeline network

Brazil's PRIO plans to negotiate with federal oil company Petrobras to expand natural gas transportation capacity from the Wahoo field in the Campos basin, the former's head of trading and shipping, Gustavo Hooper, told journalists.

The asset, which is being connected to the FPSO Frade – installed in the field of the same name – is expected to begin production in early 2026.

PRIO already uses Petrobras' pipeline infrastructure to transport gas from the Frade and Albacora Leste fields. With Wahoo, the company expects its gas transportation needs to exceed 1mn cubic meters a day, which is the maximum it has used to date.

"We believe the pipeline grid has some idle capacity, but since it's managed by Petrobras, we must submit these additional capacity requests for Petrobras' evaluation," Hooper said during the 2025 Natural Gas seminar hosted by petroleum association IBP in Rio de Janeiro.

The New Gas Law, published in 2021, guarantees third-party access to gas infrastructure like pipelines and processing units, largely controlled by Petrobras. According to the legislation, rates should be freely negotiated between parties, but there are regulatory debates about the criteria for defining those fees.

Without commenting on specific cases, Petrobras' executive gas manager, Álvaro Tupiassu, emphasized that the company has contracts with nine firms that have access to its infrastructure.

"In line with the provisions of the Gas Law, Petrobras has been negotiating access in a non-discriminatory manner with interested companies, within the available flow and processing capacities," he told reporters at the event. "This is already a normal practice in the country."

As with Frade and Albacora Leste, the gas produced at Wahoo will be processed at the Cabiúnas facility in Macaé municipality in Rio de Janeiro state. From there, the volumes may be transported via the pipelines of TAG and NTS, eventually reaching end consumers through the state distribution networks.

"We're working on commercial alternatives for the gas that will come from Wahoo," said Hooper.