PETROBRAS, GERDAU AND NATURGY SIGN THE FIRST AGREEMENT FOR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY IN THE FREE MARKET IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Petrobras, Gerdau, and Naturgy have signed contracts for the supply of natural gas in the free market environment to serve Cosigua, Gerdau's long steel production unit located in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). The agreement marks the first migration of a captive industrial market customer to the free market in the State, making the company's plant the first gas consumer to switch to this trading model in the State, whose new rules were recently approved by Rio de Janeiro's regulatory agency.

"The proximity of the supplier company to the client is fundamental so that we can understand their demands. The new gas product portfolio offers a diversified portfolio of contracts in a competitive, open market environment. We always strive to be the best supply option for our business partners," says Maurício Tolmasquim, Petrobras' Director of Energy Transition and Sustainability.

In this context, Petrobras, Gerdau and Naturgy consolidate their commercial ties, partnership, and pioneering spirit in the natural gas-free market, betting on developing solutions to enable an open, competitive, transparent, sustainable, and increasingly developed trading environment in the country.

Since 2021, Gerdau and Petrobras have had a partnership for the supply of natural gas in the free market environment, which began with the service to Gerdau's unit located in Ouro Branco (MG) and is now being expanded to the Cosigua unit. In the coming years, there are possibilities for other Gerdau industrial units to migrate to the free market.