en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mercurio Partners is seeking to acquire mature onshore oilfields to vertically integrate its natural gas-fired power generation business.
The company successfully won two natural gas thermoelectric projects in the second Capacity Reserve Auction: UTE Paulínia (23 MW) and UTE Pilar (250 MW). Mercurio Partners is currently focused on building the natural gas supply portfolio for these plants.
Mercurio co-founder Alexandre Americano said in an interview with the gas week podcast that the group's natural gas trader, Jupiter, is already operating in the market, while the company is eyeing opportunities to purchase natural gas molecules in Brazil and neighboring countries Argentina and Bolivia. He also mentioned that there are multiple options for building the supply portfolio, including the potential acquisition of upstream assets to secure its own portfolio of natural gas molecules. Americano revealed that the company has already participated in some asset acquisition processes and has "multiple open fronts" in this regard.
Mercurio was one of the founders of MGás (later sold to the J&F Group) and established Jupiter Gás Natural after divesting that asset. Americano stated that Jupiter is currently more focused on structuring natural gas contracts for thermoelectric plants, but entering the free natural gas market could be meaningful in the future. He indicated that the company is not heavily investing in this area at present, instead concentrating on the thermoelectric market, but from 2027 onward, this could be a very viable route for Jupiter.
Mercurio also sees synergies between Jupiter's operations in the natural gas market and Tyr Energia (the group's trader operating in the free electricity market), particularly in leveraging a small customer base in the B2B segment.
In the interview, Americano provided details on other projects: UTE Paulínia (in the state of São Paulo) was awarded as a biomethane thermoelectric plant in the 2021 emergency auction, later recontracted in the Capacity Reserve Auction, and is now converted to a natural gas thermoelectric plant; UTE Pilar (250 MW) is a greenfield project in the state of Alagoas, to be implemented in phases, with operations planned between 2028 and 2029. Mercurio plans to expand UTE Pilar in future new capacity auctions and aims to develop battery projects at the same site to leverage utility synergies. Americano also detailed the capital structure of UTE Pilar, which is being developed in partnership with resource management company HIX Capital, with a plant investment of 1.4 billion reais.
He also noted that Mercurio underwent a change in its equity structure this year, with former Votorantim bank CEO Gabriel Ferreira becoming a partner. The executive expects that the crisis in the free electricity market could trigger a wave of industry consolidation and advocates for regulatory measures to curb the dominance of distribution companies in the retail free electricity market.
