NTS, gas giant in the country, announces investments of R$ 12 billion in 8 years

NTS, gas giant in the country, announces investments of R$ 12 billion in 8 years

NTS, the pipeline company responsible for transporting half of all natural gas in the country, announced on Thursday (22) an investment plan of R$ 12 billion for the next eight years.

The objective is to redesign the service operation for the Southeast and South regions and add a new business unit, focused on the storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), in the North of Fluminense.

NTS’s main focus is to adapt and increase the capacity of the existing network in the stretch that follows the coast, transferring the points through which the gas enters the gas pipeline system, now consolidated in the State of São Paulo (Paulínia, Guararema and Caraguatatuba), to the Rio de Janeiro.

The new focus will be on activities in Guanabara Bay, Itaboraí and Porto do Açu.

The company seeks to adapt to the displacement of gas sources, which will come more from pre-salt production and less from Bolivia or the Mexilhão Field, in the Santos Basin.

“Gas fields run out. The supply from Bolivia and Mexilhão will gradually drop between five and ten years. Instead of receiving, we send more and more gas to São Paulo. And that requires reinforcing the mesh”, explains NTS CEO Erick Portela.

The interventions will be divided into two phases. The first one foresees the installation of a compression station in Japeri, in the metropolitan region of Rio, as early as 2023. In a second stage, the pipeline capacity will be doubled in the stretch between Rio and São Paulo, and at least three other compression stations will be will be built.

One of the pillars of the new plan that precedes Gasig — an 11-kilometer gas pipeline between Comperj, in Itaboraí, and the city of Guapimirim (RJ) — should be completed in February at a cost of BRL 230 million.

Regarding the new LNG storage front, the objective is to generate revenue through immediate supply to thermoelectric plants in the interior of Rio, mainly in Norte Fluminense.

The input should also be transported by truck to large industrial consumers in the region.

The consolidation of these small-scale routes, in market jargon, may guide the construction of additional gas pipelines at a later stage, says Portela.

The company

Created in 2017, from the privatization of Petrobras’ 2,000 km pipeline network, NTS has stakes in Brookfield and Itaúsa, in addition to the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCi) and the sovereign wealth funds CIC (China) and GIC (Singapore). ).

In 2021, the company earned BRL 5.7 billion. According to Fitch, NTS’s adjusted debt was BRL 12.4 billion in June 2021.

In the short term, the company also counts on freeing up space to close firm contracts for the transport of gas to the São Paulo market, which requires a reduction in the space for exclusive use by Petrobras, requested to the ANP last semester.

NTS has five exclusive contracts with Petrobras expiring until 2031, but is trying to free up space early to serve other customers. The plan is to open at least 12 million m³ per day to pre-salt producers.

Of this capacity, at least 40% must serve São Paulo and the South of the country.

The information is from the newspaper. The State of São Paulo.

Source: CNN Brasil