2018.03.2919:55:00UTC+00PETROBRAS: Company Signs R$ 1.95 Billion Deal To Build Gas Unit In Itabora

The Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras has signed a deal for the construction of a Natural Gas Processing Unit (UPGN) in Itabora, Rio de Janeiro, for around R$ 1.95 billion (US$ 584.2 million). The project should be carried out jointly with a Special Purpose Society (SPE) formed by China's Shandong Kerui Petroleum and the Brazilian Metodo Potencial.

The unit is part of the project Route 3, intended for offloading natural gas production from pre-salt fields in Santos Basin. The work will begin in the first half of this year, with operation expected in the second half of 2020.

According to Petrobras, the gas processing unit should be the largest in Brazil, with a capacity of up to 21 million cubic meters per day, and would significantly expand the gas outflow and processing infrastructure of the pre-salt layer, which would go from 23 million to 44 million cubic meters per day, contributing to reduce the need of natural gas imports.

In addition to the UPGN, the Rota 3 project includes the construction of a gas pipeline with around 355 kilometers of total extension, being 307 kilometers under the sea - already built - and 48 kilometers of an inland stretch. The pipeline should transport the natural gas from the Santos Basin Pre-Salt Pole to the UPGN, Petrobras said in a statement.