Rio de Janeiro-Belo Horizonte Gas Pipeline II

In June 2010, Petrobras commissioned its Rio de Janeiro-Belo Horizonte Gas Pipeline II (Gasbel II). The 267km-long pipeline has a diameter of 18in and can carry 5 million cubic metres of natural gas per day.

Commissioning of the new pipeline will increase the supply of natural gas to the state of Minas Gerais to 12.9m m³ per day. Petrobras invested $705m in the project, which has generated about 21,900 direct and indirect jobs.

With the opening of Gasbel II, the combined capacity of Gasbel pipelines has more than doubled.

Pipeline route

The Gasbel II pipeline links the city of Volta Redonda in Rio de Janeiro to Queluzito in Minas Gerais.

It also carries natural gas to the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region (RMBH) and Vale do Aço or the Steel Valley, which features several mining, steel and pulp industries.

Infrastructure

The infrastructure includes three compression stations and three natural gas delivery points. Two new stations were built at Tapinhoã (Estap) and Mantiqueira (Esman) in the city of Rio das Flores in Rio de Janeiro. An existing compression station at Santos Dumont in Minas Gerais was replaced with a new station.

The delivery points were constructed at Betim II, São Brás do Suaçuí, and Brumadinho along the length of the pipeline.

In addition the Congonhas Compression Service was established in São Brás Suaçuí, Minas Gerais.

Reserves

The pipeline receives natural gas from multiple sources. The majority of the gas comes from the Campos and Espírito Santo basins.

Additional supply will come from the Santos Basin upon completion of the Caraguatatuba-Taubaté (Gastau) gas pipeline.

Contractors

Valerus Compression Services was contracted for the construction of one of the compression stations. Valerus formed a joint venture with Geoterra and built the station in 100 days.

Daniel, a unit of Emerson Process Management, supplied measurement and control equipment for the pipeline under a contract signed in November 2009. Daniel was responsible for project management, manufacturing, assembly, testing and commissioning of its City-Gate distribution/transmission packages for the pipeline. The City-Gates were set up at São Brás do Suaçuí and Betim.

Daniel was also responsible for the entire civil and mechanical works involved in connecting the filter module and the extension valve of the City-Gate. The company also carried out integration of the City-Gates with the delivery points. In addition, it provided operational aid for the City-Gates which were built in modules.

Protubo supplied 18in API 5L X-70 bends for the pipeline.

PSG International Testing Pipelines was responsible for testing of two 87.7km sections of the pipeline between 2009 and 2010.

Development

Prior to the inauguration of Gasbel II, Minas Gerais had only one natural gas pipeline, Gasbel I, for its natural gas needs. Commissioned in 1994, Gasbel I has a capacity to carry 3.15MMcm of natural gas per day.

Construction of Gasbel II was undertaken as part of the Brazilian government’s Growth Acceleration Programme (GAP), which is aimed at expanding the natural gas transportation network in Brazil to support the growth of the natural gas industry.

As part of the programme, several new pipelines have been constructed and some are under construction. Another project inaugurated under the programme in January 2011 was the Paulínia-Jacutinga pipeline.

The new pipelines are intended to stimulate Brazil’s economy and improve the country’s infrastructure. They also doubled the pipeline network in Minas Gerais from 357km to 717km. The natural gas received by the state was quadrupled in the last 16 years.

About 1.5MMcm of natural gas per day is supplied by Gasbel II to the Aureliano Chaves (226MW) and Juiz de Fora (87MW) power plants in the RMBH. This is expected to ensure energy security and improve overall economy of Brazil.