Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co, called RasGas, sold a cargo of the fuel to Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the company said today in an emailed statement.

The gas, cooled to a liquid, was loaded on the LNG tanker Express and is bound for either the Pecem LNG terminal in Ceara or Guanabara Bay LNG terminal in Rio de Janeiro, the company said.
 

The shipment comes two months after RasGas said it loaded a spot cargo to Argentina and seven months after the company said it shipped its first LNG to Chile.

In the statement, Khalid Sultan Al Kuwari, marketing executive, RasGas, said: “The South American market for LNG is growing."

He added: “We’re delighted to supply LNG on a spot basis to this new market and we look forward to the possibility of continuing our relationship with Petrobras in the future.”

Qatar is searching for new buyers of its LNG amid projections the US will cut demand for gas imports because of rising domestic production from shale rock.

Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs Group reduced its US natural gas price forecast citing increased domestic production. The added supply will reduce the need for the US to import LNG and cause an oversupply on other markets, the bank said.

Qatar has diverted future supplies originally intended for the US to China and Dubai. The country aims to raise its annual capacity to produce LNG to 77 million tons with the startup of two production plants this year.

Most of Qatar’s LNG is sold under long term contracts to countries including Japan, South Korea and India. No long term sales contracts have yet been signed with South American countries, according to a report by Qatar National Bank.

The Express has the capacity to transport 150,900 cubic meters of the fuel, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg. RasGas didn’t provide the amount of LNG sent to Brazil.

Natural gas, down 16 percent this year, traded at about $4.65 per million British thermal units today on the New York Mercantile Exchange, less than a third the December 2005 record of $15.78 per million British thermal units.

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/qatar-ships-first-lng-to-brazil-seeks-to-offset-us-decline