Tergás Rio Grande LNG Terminal
| Part of the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
Tergás Rio Grande LNG Terminal, also known as Terminal de GNL Tergás Rio Grande, is a shelved (confirmed) LNG import terminal in Brazil.
Location
Table 1: Location details
| Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Tergás Rio Grande LNG Terminal | Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil[1] | -32.118353, -52.106161 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the terminal:
Project Details
Table 2: Infrastructure details
| Name | Facility type | Status | Capacity | Total terminal capacity | Offshore | Associated infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tergás Rio Grande LNG Terminal | import[2] | shelved (confirmed)[3][4] | 1.61 mtpa | 1.61 mtpa | False | Rio Grande power station[5] |
Table 3: Cost
| Name | Facility type | Cost | Total known terminal costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tergás Rio Grande LNG Terminal | import[2] | – | – |
Financing
No financing data available.
Table 4: Project timeline
| Name | Facility type | Status | Proposal year | FID year | Construction year | Operating year | Inactive year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tergás Rio Grande LNG Terminal | import[2] | shelved (confirmed)[3][4] | – | – | – | –[6][6] | 2022 (shelved)[3][4] |
Ownership
Table 5: Ownership
| Name | Facility type | Status | Owners | Parent companies | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tergás Rio Grande LNG Terminal | import[2] | shelved (confirmed)[3][4] | Grupo Cobra [100%][7] | Grupo Cobra [100.0%] | – |
Background
The Tergás regasification terminal was announced as part of a larger project encompassing the 1238 MW Rio Grande power station.[8] Both were to be constructed in the port zone of Rio Grande, RS in southern Brazil.[9] The proposed terminal was to be the first onshore LNG terminal in Brazil, with an initial processing capacity of 6 million cubic meters per day.[9] The project was originally to be developed by Gás Energy New Ventures, a partnership between Fundo InfraBrasil/Santander and Avir Geração de Energia.[9]
The Tergás project was first proposed in 2008[10], and in 2009 an R$3 billion investment was allegedly projected, but development stalled and the investment does not appear to have materialized.[11] Brazil's national electricity agency ANEEL revoked the power plant's environmental license in 2017, and in 2018, Brazil's Federal Public Ministry (MPF) recommended that Rio Grande do Sul's state environmental protection agency Fepam refrain from issuing a license for the regasification terminal.[12]
Following a court injunction in 2020 the project was revived, with support from Rio Grande's municipal government.[8][9] Both the power plant and terminal were granted installation licenses by the state environmental authority Fepam in February 2022, with commercial operations expected to start as early as 2024.[13]
Original plans called for the terminal to be developed as a FSRU (floating storage and regasification unit) by Brazil's Bolognesi Group in partnership with the US-based company Excelerate Energy.[14] However, by the time the 2022 installation license was granted, the proposal had been significantly modified, taking the form of an onshore LNG terminal in the Port of Rio Grande under the ownership of Spanish-owned Grupo Cobra.[15]
In early April 2022, a ruling from Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) upheld ANEEL's 2017 revocation of the power plant's license, putting the entire gas-to-power project back on hold.[16] Throughout the month of April the project's future remained in limbo, as original power plant owner Bolognesi Energia continued to seek ANEEL's approval for a transfer of ownership to Spanish-owned Grupo Cobra, a legal maneuver designed to keep the project alive.[16][17] In late April 2022, ANEEL reaffirmed its decision to reject the project, even under new ownership.[17][18] Despite these setbacks, the owners continued to hold out hope that a forthcoming report from Brazil's national energy research agency EPE might deem the power plant critical to the national energy grid, thereby reviving the project once more.[17][18]
In October 2022, Jaime Llopis, the CEO of Grupo Cobra in Brasil, asserted that the project could still begin commercial operations by 2026 if ANEEL were to grant its approval.[19]
In April 2023, Rio Grande mayor Fábio Branco and Rio Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite met with ANEEL officials in Brasilia to discuss alternative options for moving the project forward, but the meeting ended without any noteworthy new breakthroughs.[20]
As of March 2024, Grupo Cobra's investors were reportedly still seeking to get the project off the ground.[21] However, as of September 2024, in the absence of any significant forward movement on the Tergás terminal in more than two years, the project was presumed to be shelved.
In late 2025 and early 2026, a pair of judicial decisions by Brazil's Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region (TRF4) potentially gave the Tergás project new life. In December 2025, TRF4 upheld the restoration of the Rio Grande power station's outorga (authorization) to Bolognesi Energia, rejecting an appeal by ANEEL.[22] The court's follow-up ruling in March 2026 ordered ANEEL to reanalyze the project and review Bolognesi's proposed transfer of the power plant to Grupo Cobra Brasil.[23] If ANEEL were to approve the transfer to Cobra, the power plant would next face a new environmental licensing process before construction could proceed.[24] Approval of the power plant under Grupo Cobra's ownership could also revive efforts to develop the associated Tergás Rio Grande LNG terminal, as the two have historically been linked as components of the same integrated gas-to-power project.[24]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ "Fepam emite licenças para implantação de estação de gás natural e usina termelétrica em Rio Grande". G1/Globo. 2022-02-14. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125090950/https://www.riogrande.rs.gov.br/consulta/index.php/noticias/detalhes+6c27c,,lancado-no-rio-grande-o-projeto-de-gas-natural-e-termeletrica.html. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://www.jornaldocomercio.com/_conteudo/economia/2022/04/844177-aneel-nega-requerimento-administrativo-e-complica-situacao-da-termica-de-rio-grande.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 https://www.portaldenoticias.com.br/noticia/22602/aneel-nega-transferencia-a-grupo-espanhol-de-usina-a-gas-no-rs.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.jornaldocomercio.com/_conteudo/editorial/2021/09/811423-a-mobilizacao-pela-instalacao-da-termica-a-gas-em-rio-grande.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125114704/https://www.jornaldocomercio.com/economia/2022/10/869037-grupo-cobra-preve-operacao-de-termeletrica-de-rio-grande-para-2026.html. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Grupo Cobra não desistirá do projeto de termelétrica em Rio Grande". Jornal do Comércio. 2024-03-18. Archived from the original on 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "A mobilização pela instalação da térmica a gás em Rio Grande". Jornal do Comércio. September 14, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "LANÇADO NO RIO GRANDE O PROJETO DE GÁS NATURAL E TERMELÉTRICA". Prefeitura do Rio Grande. December 18, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Brazil to build onshore LNG terminal in Rio Grande do Sul". ICIS Explore. December 19, 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Audiência Pública no RS discute implantação do Terminal de GNL e da UTE Rio Grande - TN". tnsustentavel.eco.br. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
- ↑ "Termelétrica da Bolognesi pode ir para Ceará". Jornal do Comércio. January 16, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Usina Termelétrica abre caminho para Rio Grande dar a volta por cima após a crise do polo naval". Prefeitura do Rio Grande. 2022-02-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Bolognesi to build two LNG terminals in Brazil | Argus Media". Argus Media. November 28, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Fepam emite licenças para implantação de estação de gás natural e usina termelétrica em Rio Grande". G1. February 14, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Revogação de outorga de usina bilionária em Rio Grande preocupa, mas autoridades acreditam em solução na Aneel". GZH. 2022-04-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Aneel nega pedido e põe em risco investimento de R$ 6 bilhões em Rio Grande". Jornal do Comércio. April 25, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Aneel nega transferência a grupo espanhol de usina a gás no RS". Portal de Notícias. April 26, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Nícolas Pasinato (October 19, 2022). "Grupo Cobra prevê operação de termelétrica de Rio Grande para 2026". Jornal do Comércio.
- ↑ "Prefeito e Governador apresentam alternativa para viabilizar Usina Termoelétrica em Rio Grande". Rio Grande Tem. April 27, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Klein, Jefferson (2024-03-18). "Grupo Cobra não desistirá do projeto de termelétrica em Rio Grande". Jornal do Comércio.
- ↑ Futuro da termelétrica de Rio Grande tem data para novas deliberações, A Hora do Sul, February 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Justiça assegura continuidade do projeto da Termelétrica". Prefeitura do Rio Grande. 2026-03-24. Retrieved 2026-08-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 24.0 24.1 Investimentos de R$ 13,8 bi em Rio Grande esbarram em entraves para sair do papel, Jornal do Comércio, May 20, 2026.
