TAG plans to start up in October the new section of the network that will connect the country’s largest gas pipeline network to Eneva’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification terminal on the coast of Sergipe, the gas transport company’s chief executive, Gustavo Labanca, told Reuters.
With an investment of 350 million reais, the new route will be 25 km long and will have a maximum transport capacity of 14 million cubic meters per day (m³/d) of LNG, enabling new sources of supply of the raw material to the integrated transport network, with greater flexibility and security for national supply, he stressed.
TAG, which currently has French Engie and Canadian fund CDPQ as shareholders, was sold by Petrobras in 2019.
The delivery of the project is considered a milestone by the companies, as Eneva will have the first private LNG terminal connected to the country’s gas transmission network; the other units are owned by Petrobras.
“We believe it is emblematic to take 14 million cubic meters, connect them to the transport network and offer this gas to Brazil,” Labanca said, after attending a ceremony Tuesday in the city of Sergipe to mark the last stretch of the company’s work.
After completion of the work, the project will still require a state environmental license and an operational permit from the ANP, the oil and gas regulator, the official noted.
“And we are happy to have Eneva as a partner, as a customer, because they are active in the gas market.”
The new capacity represents about 10% of all natural gas production in Brazil, considering the latest data from regulator ANP, published in May, according to which more than half of the volume of gas produced in the country is currently reinjected into Brazilian fields, as part of exploration activity.
Located in the metropolitan region of Aracaju, the so-called Sergipe Hub by Eneva has a floating natural gas storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with a capacity of 21 million m³/d and the Celse thermoelectric power plant, with a generation capacity of 1.6 GW, which consumes approximately 6 million m³/d.
Thanks to the project, Eneva has moved forward to conclude new deals for the supply of imported LNG and now sees room to negotiate an additional supply of up to 10 million m³/d for new customers, the energy company’s chairman, Lino Cançado, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Eneva also hopes to expand the capacity of Celse, which will now also use domestic gas as an alternative thanks to the connection.
In June, Eneva had already announced a contract estimated at 1.2 billion reais for the supply of up to 1.07 million m³/day of LNG from the hub to the Linhares Geração thermoelectric plant in Espírito Santo.
The project comes after Petrobras sold off several gas transportation and distribution assets in Brazil in recent years. The idea of previous governments was to increase the number of operators in the sector, incentivize investment and allow price reductions.
INVESTMENTS
Labanca also reiterated that TAG has plans to invest approximately 5 billion reais between 2024 and 2028, of which 57% will be allocated to new opportunities for the expansion of existing infrastructure and the remainder to technological upgrades, maintenance and integrity of assets.
The amount takes into account projects already approved by the company’s board of directors, Labanca explained, considering that TAG has mapped an overall pipeline of projects for a total of approximately 30 billion reais, considering projects still in the study phase or that depend on different types of approvals to be made feasible.
Source: Terra
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