The Minas Gerais Gas Company (Gasmig) began, at the beginning of this month, work on the Central-West Gas Pipeline in the State, which foresees the expansion of the Natural Gas Distribution System (SDGN) by 300 km in length on lines from system. The project involves an estimated investment of R$800 million and represents 23% of the company’s current network.
The implementation will take place in two stages, with the works starting in the 1st half of this year and estimated to last 24 months. The Centro Oeste Gas Pipeline will pass through eight municipalities in the region – Betim, Divinópolis, Igarapé, Itaúna, Juatuba, Mateus Leme, São Joaquim de Bicas and Sarzedo – which, together, have approximately 1 million inhabitants (5% of the State’s population) and account for 10% of the industrial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 7% of the total GDP of Minas Gerais.
Gasmig highlights that in addition to infrastructure, the gas pipeline represents investment in the social and sustainability areas. In addition to the approximately R$800 million that will be invested, the company estimates that it will be possible to create up to 15 thousand direct and indirect jobs.
“In addition to being a gas distributor, we are a company that invests in the development of society, which seeks the gradual and continuous increase in the diversity of the workforce, prioritizing health, safety and well-being programs”, informed Gilberto Valle, president of Gasmig.
He emphasizes that in the implementation of this SDGN “the environment will be respected, as possible environmental impacts will be minimized, with the adoption of effective mitigating measures”. Starting with the launch event, on the 4th, which was “Carbon Neutral”: all CO2 emissions associated with the event, from the organization to the official launch, which was attended by the governor of Minas, Romeu Zema, it was 100% compensated.
The western region of Minas Gerais is home to an important industrial hub, but it did not yet have an infrastructure for distributing natural gas, a fuel known for its low pollutant emissions. “This project contributes enormously to the development of the region, which is growing a lot,” highlighted Governor Romeu Zema.
With the approval of the environmental licensing by the State Environmental Policy Council (Copam), it was possible to start the works this month. The project validated by the regulatory body was already included in the concessionaire’s investment plan for the tariff cycle from 2022 to 2026, approved by the State in the context of the 2nd Tariff Revision.
About the gas pipeline
The Centro-Oeste Gas Pipeline is the largest expansion project in the segment since 2010. The project’s consumption potential is around 230 thousand cubic meters per day, with an estimated capture of 1 thousand new industrial and commercial customers. The gas pipelines will be tested and gasified in stages, enabling services to municipalities to begin before 100% of the works are completed. As the sections are completed, municipalities will be able to benefit from access to the input.
According to Gilberto Valle, six tons of carbon dioxide are offset through the neutralization of carbon credits within the scope of the Clean Development Mechanism, a criterion created by the UN to assist in the process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.
In addition to industries, commerce, in general, as well as the vehicular segment – with the recruitment of new stations for the sale of CNG – and the residential sector are other high demand bets for Gasmig. In general terms, this means that on the highways that make up these corridors, there are CNG stations at a maximum distance of 400 km, allowing the movement of cargo throughout the State, transported by CNG vehicles.
In the case of the Trunk Line, the main segment that will connect the other roads, material from suppliers has already been received, almost 90% of the land expropriation processes have been completed and contracts for the use and occupation of highways have been signed. Work on the line is estimated to last 18 months.
As for the Lateral Lines, the expectation is that the interventions will begin in the second half of this year, since the expropriations and signing of contracts for the use and occupation of highways are in the final stage of processing. For these lines, the following have already been completed: the acquisition of materials; and hiring services from outsourced companies. The notice was published in January this year.
Currently, Gasmig is present in 47 municipalities in Minas Gerais, with a network extension of 1,675 km in operation, with 95,887 customers divided into: automotive (66), industrial (105), residential (94,367), cogeneration and air conditioning (7) , commercial and industrial with lower consumption (1,339), industrial in the free market (1) and thermoelectric in the free market (2).
The Government of Minas had already been committing efforts and resources to the gas pipeline project. By 2023, Gasmig has invested around R$250 million in the acquisition of materials such as pipes, valves and connections. For this year, an additional R$240 million is still expected to be executed related to construction services for the Trunk Line, in addition to the start of work on the Lateral Lines. The remainder will be used in 2025 and 2026, according to the progress of the works.
The amount was also used in the construction of the gas pipeline, payment and compensation for the clearance of land impacted by the implementation of the right-of-way, in addition to the preparation of engineering projects and environmental studies.
The Centro-Oeste Project is a natural gas distribution system composed of a carbon steel trunk line with a nominal diameter of 16 inches and approximately 108 km long. In addition, other gas pipelines called lateral lines will be built in the cities served, and these lateral lines will have different diameters ranging between 2″, 4″, 6″ and 10″ for carbon steel gas pipelines and diameters of 63 mm, 90 mm and 125 mm for High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) gas pipelines.
