OREANDA-NEWS. January 20, 2012. OGX Maranhao, which was set up by OGX and MPX, has been granted the Installation License (LI n? 10/1012) by the Secretary of State for the Environment and Natural Resources of Maranhao (SEMA/MA) for the production and transport of natural gas in the Gaviao Real and Gaviao Azul fields, in the Parnaiba Basin. This document is part of the environmental licensing process for the venture, which will produce and process natural gas for the Parnaiba Thermo-electric Complex, currently under construction in the region. At this point the total contracted capacity of the Complex already amounts to 1.5GW and highlights the synergies between OGX and MPX.

The next few weeks should see the beginning of the construction of the Gas Treatment Unit (GTU), which will be located in the vicinity of the Parnaiba Thermo-electric Complex, in the municipality of Santo Antonio dos Lopes. At this GTU any liquids in the gas will be removed, and the gas will be filtered and heated to reach the required specifications. The total investment in the venture (plant and installations) will be approximately  BRL 216 million.

Gas production should begin in the second half of 2012 and could reach up to 6 million cubic meters per day of natural gas. This volume will double Brazil’s current onshore production of natural gas.