OREANDA-NEWS. February 15, 2012. Under partnership, MPX and OGX have started, in the first week of February, the civil works concerning the venture for the production and delivery of natural gas in the Parnaiba Basin. The works consist of the opening of the rights of ways, through which 8 km of gas pipelines will pass in order to deliver the gas production, as well as the construction of the Gas Treatment Unit (UTG). The consortium hired to implement the venture is formed by the companies Valerus-Geogas.

The UTG is being constructed in the outskirts of the Parnaiba Thermoelectric Unit (UTE), in the municipality of Santo Antonio dos Lopes. At UTG, there will occur the treatment to remove the existing liquids in the gas produced, filter and heat the product and place it in accordance with the required specifications. From this unit, a gas pipeline will depart which will deliver the already processed gas to UTE. The total investment in the venture (premises) will be of approximately US\\$ 110 million. The UTG will have a constructed area of 87,500m2 and will hire about 450 workers during the construction phase, expected to be completed in the second semester of this year. During the operation phase, there will be 30 workers at the unit.

The natural gas to be processed and produced at UTG by OGX will come from the field of Gaviao Real (“Royal Hawk”) – located in Santo Antonio dos Lopes – and later from Gaviao Azul (“Blue Hawk”) (Capinzal do Norte). The production of gas will start during the second semester of 2012 and will reach a daily production of natural gas of up to 6 million cubic meters. This volume means doubling the present production of in land natural gas in Brazil.

In the last week of January, MPX received the first gas energy generator on the construction site. The company will implement units which will account for the installed capacity above 1,500 MW. The UTE Parnaiba will be the biggest energy generating thermoelectric complex in Brazil. The company has obtained licenses which will achieve the capacity of up to 3,722 MW.