Brazilian energy company Petrobras is to buy the remaining 80% stake of the 133 MW Fafen gas-fired power plant it does not already own as part of its strategy to reduce losses from take-or-pay gas supply contracts. Bought from Portugal’s EdP for reals (96 million ($35.4 million), Fafen was EdP’s only thermal plant in Brazil, and did not fit in with a strategy focusing on distribution and hydroelectric. Fafen, located in the Camaçari petrochemical complex in the northeastern state of Bahia, was built in 2001 as a joint venture by EdP and Petrobras, but a shortage of gas supplies led to losses for both partners. In early 2005, it will begin delivering 22 MW and 42 tonnes/hour of steam to the Fafen fertilizer plant and has also signed contracts to sell 100 MW to EdP distribution company Bandeirante.
