Two of Brazil's three natural gas transportation pipelines have announced biomethane hub initiatives for injection of the renewable natural gas (RNG) into their networks.
Both Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolivia-Brasil's (TBG) and Transportadora Associada de Gas (TAG) will launch projects to determine where to add entry points into their systems, either by combining volumes from many small producers or by allowing bigger producers to transport their gas further away.
TAG, which runs along Brazil's coastline from the northeastern Ceara state to Rio de Janeiro in the southeast, is likelier to combine production from small plants scattered across the region.
TBG, connecting the southeastern region to Bolivia, eyes bigger producers in Sao Paulo state.
"We are already in talks with 10 producers in the region and at least three or four consumers that would be interested in buying that biomethane," said Jorge Hijjar, TBG's chief commercial officer.
One of the main challenges the hubs try to address is a lack of scale to justify investment in new infrastructure or in truck transportation to the pipelines. The mapping of RNG potential along the network with the identification of producers interested in being part of the production hubs with higher biomethane volumes makes the collective transportation investment more financially viable for all parties.
Another possibility for TBG and TAG would be to enter the "gathering" segment through their hubs, where they would participate directly in the building of new smaller pipeline connections and in truck transportation. But others might be interested in taking on that work.
"TAG hopes to work with partners to make this [mode] to the entry point possible, as it would be outside [our business model] to act across this region," said Cristina Sayão, TAG's regulatory affairs manager.
TAG is seeking out possible producers, while TBG is already a step further ahead and has submitted a proposal to hydrocarbons regulator ANP.
"We expect it to be approved this year, as the proposal was very detailed," said Hijjar.
