The pipeline will link Brazil’s main ethanol producing regions in Brazil’s mid-west, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, to the large consuming centres of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. When completed, the pipeline will have the capacity to transport 21 MMcm/a of ethanol.

Two collection centres will also be constructed, one in Uberaba in Minas Gerais, and another in Ribeirão Preto in São Paulo, aimed at receiving the ethanol from the production plants, mainly through road transportation.

The first section of the pipeline will extend 202 km from Ribeirão Preto to Paulinia. The second phase of the project will involve the construction of pipeline northward through states in the mid-west such as Goia. The system will then be extended to Barueri and Guarulhos, in Greater São Paulo, and Duque de Caxias in Rio Di Janeiro.

The entire 850 km pipeline project is expected to be brought online in mid-2014 and receive more than $US2.9 billion in investments.

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Petrobras’ plans for ethanol

The ethanol pipeline system is part of Petrobras’ Growth Acceleration Programme, which includes plans to export 4.2 MMcm of ethanol in 2013. The company is currently using the Ilha d’Água terminal in Rio de Janeiro and the Maceió maritime terminal, in addition to the Santos and Paranaguá ports, to meet export demands.

Outgoing President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was present at the first-weld ceremony, said “Starting this work is the achievement of a dream we’ve been working on for five years, since the creation of the Growth Acceleration Programme. The goal is to make our ethanol more competitive and have it get to the Brazilian ports faster and more safely.”