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PBR » Topics » Our investment in the natural gas and domestic power markets may not generate the returns we expect.This excerpt taken from the PBR 20-F filed May 22, 2009. Our investment
in the natural gas and domestic power markets may not generate
the returns we expect.
Over the past five years, we have invested, alone or with other
investors, in a number of gas-fired power plants in Brazil.
These gas-fired power plants provide non-base-load capacity to
the grid and tend to operate at low average utilization rates.
This low utilization rate has a negative effect on our ability
to provide a return on these investments.
Natural gas demand is also influenced by general economic
conditions and oil prices. In the first quarter of 2009,
non-thermoelectric demand for natural gas in Brazil declined 22%
compared to average demand in 2008, due primarily to a downturn
in the industrial sector and lower
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international prices for crude oil and oil products, the
primary alternatives to natural gas. Our natural gas prices do
not immediately adjust to fluctuations in the international
price of crude oil and oil products, which can make natural gas
less competitive until it adjusts to lower international prices.
Sustained declines in the Brazilian natural gas market may have
a material adverse effect on our results of operations and
financial condition.
We are also subject to fines and may lose our license to sell
electricity if we are unable to fulfill our energy delivery
commitments to the Agência Nacional de Energia
Elétrica—ANEEL, the Brazilian energy regulator,
due to gas supply constraints. There are several factors that
may affect our ability to deliver gas to our gas-fired power
plants including our inability to secure supply of natural gas,
problems affecting our natural gas infrastructure and increasing
demand in the non-thermoelectric market. See Item 4.
“Information on the Company—Gas and
Energy—Power—Electricity Sales” for a more
detailed description of these risks.
As a result of the foregoing, our investment in the natural gas
and domestic power markets has generated losses in the past and
may not generate the returns we expect in the future.
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