TAG and Unigel signed an interruptible gas transport service contract to supply two fertilizer plants operated by the petrochemical company, in Bahia and Sergipe. The agreement, scheduled to start on January 29, foresees the delivery of 2.3 million cubic meters (Mm³) of gas per day.

“We are actively working to enable new customers to access TAG’s network, which is fundamental for the sector´s growth and to attract more investments throughout the natural gas chain. It’s a joint effort with ANP and other institutions involved in the opening of the market to meet the demands of agents, in line with the New Gas Bill of Law” says Gustavo Labanca, TAG’s CEO.

The contract signed between the companies has a term up to one year and will be attended by TAG’s current gas transport infrastructure. The gas will be supplied by Petrobras, through Manati field (BA), and will be delivered to citygates in which Unigel has an agreement with local distributors.

The Sergipe plant will be the first asset to receive the gas as part of the new business, with an average volume of 1.1 million m³/day, while the Bahia plant will receive an average of 1.2 million m³/day, scheduled to start in March.

Transportadora Associada de Gás S.A. (TAG) owns the most extensive network of transport pipelines in the country, covering approximately 4,500 km, that represents 47% of the country’s gas infrastructure. There are 3,700 km in the Northeast coast of Brazil, passing through almost 200 municipalities in nine Brazilian states – Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro – and another 800 km in the Amazon, in a stretch that connects the oil region of Urucu to Manaus, in Amazonas.

TAG is controlled by ENGIE, the largest private energy company in Brazil, that operates in the generation, commercialization and transmission of electricity and energy solutions, in consortium with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans.

Unigel is one of the largest petrochemical companies in Brazil, leading the production of acrylics and styrenics. The company, whose activities serve multiple customers from a broad spectrum of industries, such as home appliances, consumer goods, construction, packaging, mining and agriculture, took over the operation of the fertilizer factories plants in Bahia and Sergipe, leased from Petrobras for 10 years.

“Unigel will supply an important demand of agriculture, livestock and national industry materials, which today depends on imports from other countries, resuming the production of urea and ammonium sulfate,” says Roberto Noronha Santos, CEO of Unigel. With the resumption of the factories, Unigel also reinforces its own competitiveness in the acrylics segment, since part of the ammonia produced in these assets is also no longer imported. “Unigel Agro will contribute to the generation of jobs in the States of Sergipe and Bahia and can further strengthen the competitiveness of Brazilian agribusiness”, concludes Noronha.