Port of Pecém Coal Terminal
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The Port of Pecém Coal Terminal is one of Brazil's largest coal import terminals, directly serving the 1.1 GW coal-fired Pecém power station.
The terminal is located at Pier 1, Berth 1 within the Port of Pecém, a multipurpose port in the northeastern state of Ceará, Brazil. The port is also referred to as CIPP S.A (Development Company of the Industrial and Port Complex of Pecém). It mainly handles coal, iron ores, containers, and LNG.[1]
Location
The port is near the city of Fortaleza in the state of Ceará, along the Atlantic Ocean.
Background
The port was built in 2001[2] and has three piers: two shorter jetties for dry bulk and liquid bulk cargoes, plus one longer multiple-use pier known as the Terminal de Múltiplas Utilidades (TMUT). The port has direct routes between South America, North America, Europe, and Asia and indirect routes which service all of the aforementioned as well as Africa.[3]
Coal is transported via conveyor belt from the shorter jetty closest to shore, as shown on the map published by the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex.[3] Google Maps clearly identifies this same pier as the coal terminal berth.[4]
The Port of Pecém's master plan (Tabela 1: Equipamentos de Cais do Terminal Portuário do Pecém) identifies Pier 1, Berth 1 as the source of coal for the Pecém power station.[5] Coal is fed directly to the power plant's coal storage yard via a specialized 13-kilometer tubular conveyor belt system.[5]
Coal sources
The Pecém terminal's statistical reports show a shifting variety of sources for the coal imports passing through the terminal, as follows:
January-December 2024 coal import sources[6]
- 56% United States
- 21% Colombia
- 11% Australia
- 9% Brazil
- 2% Chile
- 1% Singapore
January-December 2025 coal import sources[7]
- 35% United States
- 26% Brazil
- 18% Colombia
- 12% Australia
- remainder sourced roughly equally from South Africa, Cape Verde, Egypt, India and Panama
Some of the coal moving through the port directly services the Porto do Pecém power station. Once unloaded onto the tubular, closed 12.5 km long conveyor belt, coal is moved directly from the port to the power station at a rate of 2,400 tonnes per hour.[8]
Over the years, multiple sources have reported that the power plant receives its coal primarily from Colombia, including a 2013 master plan published by Pecém's port authority[5], an Ember shipping dashboard from 2021[9], and an August 2026 article in O Povo, which specifically notes that coal for the power plant is "importado sobretudo da Colômbia."[10]
Coal terminal throughput
In 2021, Ember reported that the port had imported 1.04 megatonnes of coal in 2020.[9] The port's own statistical analysis reported that annual coal throughput had increased to 3.129 mtpa by December 2024[6] and 3.263 mtpa by December 2025.[7]
Total port throughput
During 2018, the port handled 17 million tons of cargo overall.[2] As of 2021, the port had expanded at an annual average rate of 26% over the previous 10 years[2], with total throughput expected to increase to 45 million tons by 2030.[2] The port achieved a total cargo throughput of 20 million tonnes in 2024, a 13% increase over 2023.[11]
Future coal imports implied by Brazil's 2026 energy auctions
In March 2026, both units of the Pecém coal plant won new 10-year contracts in Brazil's LRCAP energy auction[12], extending the operating lifespans of Unit 1 and Unit 2 through 2037 and 2041, respectively[12][13], and presumably guaranteeing continued operations at the coal import terminal over that same period.
Ownership
CIPP (Companhia de Desenvolvimento do Complexo Industrial e Portuário do Pecém) is the operator of the Pecém port complex, with the State of Ceará serving as its majority shareholder.[14] The Rotterdam Port Authority acquired 30% of CIPP's shares in December 2018, allowing it to assume joint control for strategic decision making and the makeup of the board and management.[2] The state government of Ceará retained the remaining 70%.[14]
The coal terminal at Pecém is operated by PPTM (Porto do Pecém Transportadora de Minérios SA, also known as Terminal do Pecém Transportadora de Minérios SA).[5] As of 2015, PPTM was owned 50% by EDP[15], with the remainder held by Eneva SA.[16] By September 2026, Diamante Energia had apparently acquired EDP's former 50% stake.[17] In September 2026, Eneva announced plans to acquire Diamante's 50% stake, which would leave Eneva SA as the sole, 100% shareholder upon closing of the deal.[17]
Details of coal handling
- Coal terminal operator: PPTM (Porto do Pecém Transportadora de Minérios SA)[5]
- Coal terminal owner: Eneva SA (100%, pending closure of 2026 sales agreement with Diamante Energia)[17]
- Location: São Gonçalo do Amarante, Ceará, Brazil[5]
- Coal capacity (mtpa): 7.9[18]
- Coal throughput (Tonnes per annum): 3,263,883 (2025)[7]
- Status: Operating[11]
- Start year: 2002[5][11]
- Type: Imports[6][7]
- Source of Coal: mostly United States, Colombia, Brazil and Australia[6][7]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Port of Rotterdam Investing USD 85 Mn in Port of Pecém - Offshore Energy". Offshore Energy. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Pecém - Brazil". Port of Rotterdam. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 "PECÉM INDUSTRIAL AND P ORT COMPLEX" (PDF). Port of Rotterdam. 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Internal Berth, Coal terminal - Catuana, Caucaia - CE, Brazil". Google Maps. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "Plano Mestre Terminal Portuário do Pecém" (PDF). Secretaria de Portos - Governo Federal do Brasil. 2015-05-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Relatório Estatístico Dezembro 2024 (p 11)" (PDF). Terminal Portuário do Pecém. 2024-12-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Relatório Estatístico Dezembro 2025 (p 11)" (PDF). Terminal Portuário do Pecém. 2025-12-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "The Power Plant | EDP Enerpeixe". pecem.brasil.edp.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Ember Shipping Dashboard". Ember. 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ↑ "No Ceará, Diamante Energia assume gestão total do maior complexo térmico a carvão da América Latina". O Povo+. 2026-08-21. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Pecém - Brazil". Port of Rotterdam. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Resultados do Leilão - Leilão de Reserva de Capacidade na forma de Potência de 2026 - UTEs a Gás Natural, Carvão Mineral e UHEs". CCEE. 2026-03-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Térmicas a gás concentram 80% da potência contratada no LRCAP; veja os vencedores do leilão". Eixos. March 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Carta Anual de Políticas Públicas e Governança Corporativa 2018" (PDF). CIPP (Companhia de Desenvolvimento do Complexo Industrial e Portuário do Pecém). 2019-04-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Demonstrações Financeiras 2015" (PDF). EDP. 2015-12-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "PORTO DO PECÉM TRANSPORTADORA DE MINÉRIOS S.A.: NOTAS EXPLICATIVAS EXERCÍCIO FINDOS EM 31 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2015 E 2014 (p 70)" (PDF). Diário do Estado do Ceará. 2016-03-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Material fact". Eneva SA. 2026-09-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Contribuição à Consulta Pública ANEEL nº 14/2016: Obter subsídios para discussão e aprimoramento das metodologias para majoração e/ou recomposição da estrutura do CVU de usinas termoelétricas". EDP – Energias do Brasil. 2017-02-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
