Brazil's natural gas consumption rose by 16.5pc in June, led by a surge in demand for power generation as drought slashed hydropower capacity.
Consumption of piped natural gas from local distribution companies rose to 82mn m³/d (2.896 Bcf/d) in June from the prior month, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Natural Gas Distributors (Abegas). Power generation was the biggest user, accounting for 39mn m³/d, an increase of 98pc from the previous month.
Industrial use took the second largest share of consumption in June, with 30mn m³/d, a 3.4pc gain from the prior month. Brazil's industrial sector has restored its gas consumption to pre-Covid 19 pandemic levels as the economy recovers, according to Abegas.
Brazil is facing the most severe drought since record-keeping began 91 years ago, throttled hydropower generation that has historically supplied around 60pc of the country's power generation. Hydropower is now delivering no more than 45pc of the country's electricity.
Thermal generation is supplying 28pc of the generation matrix, as opposed to 10pc offered to the system in the same period last year.
Total natural gas consumption rose by 33pc in the first half of 2021, comparing to the same period last year, when demand was low because of restrictions prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession. Gas demand from power plants rose by 61pc in the first half of this year.
