Brazilian pipeline company NTS signed its first bilateral natural gas transportation contract in the country's liberalized market with Brazilian iron ore producer Gerdau.
Gerdau will use NTS' grid to ship gas to its iron-producing unit in Ouro Branco, in Minas Gerais state.
NTS — which serves the southeastern Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states — has not yet launched a tender or an open season for gas shippers to hire gas transportation capacity. Gerdau negotiated the transport contract directly with NTS.
Gerdau is one of the first companies in Brazil to sign gas supply agreements in the bilateral market, moving away from the regional gas distributors' regulated market.
State-controlled company Petrobras supplies gas to Gerdau's steel milling complex in Ouro Branco. The terms of the four-year contract, which began on 1 January 2022, were not disclosed.
