OREANDA-NEWS. March 21, 2012. The Governor Roseana Sarney visited on March 12nd the OGX Maranhao Gas Treatment Unit (GTU), a joint venture between OGX and MPX, in Santo Antonio dos Lopes. On the occasion she took part in meetings with executives from both companies and visited OGX’s logistics base, where she attended a technical presentation on the companies’ activities in the Parnaiba Basin.

"This venture is very important because it guarantees more jobs and quality of life for the population. We are optimistic, because new discoveries should be announced by OGX," said Mrs. Sarney.

The natural gas to be processed and produced in the Gas Treatment Unit will come from the Gaviao Real field (located in Santo Antonio dos Lopes) and subsequently from the Gaviao Azul field (Capinzal do Norte). Production should commence in the second half of this year and may reach up to 6 million m2/day. This volume means doubling the current production of natural gas in Brazil.

In addition to the GTU, the Governor visited the MPX Parnaiba Thermo-electric Unit (TEU).

Parnaiba Thermo-electric Plant

MPX is building a natural gas fueled thermoelectric power generation complex in Santo Antonio dos Lopes, the Parnaiba Thermo-electric Plant. With an installed energy capacity of 3.722 MW, the Parnaiba complex will be the largest Thermo-electric plant for power generation in Brazil.

The project will be built in parts. For the first power generation units to be installed, totaling more than 1,500 MW, an investment of approximately BRL  3 billion is planned. The first units will begin generating electricity as early as 2013. Today, the building work is at the earthmoving stage.

Exploration of Natural Gas

OGX Maranhao has been carrying out natural gas exploration in the Parnaiba Basin since December 2009, when seismic surveys began in part of the eight exploration blocks for which it has concessions.

From 2010 to the present date, 10 wells have already been drilled in the region, in the municipalities of Capinzal do Norte, Santo Antonio dos Lopes, Lima Campos, Bacabal, Codo and Igarape Grande, creating more than 1,500 jobs in the region.

So far, two newly discovered fields have been declared commercially viable: Gaviao Real (Santo Antonio dos Lopes) and Gaviao Azul (Capinzal do Norte). The exploratory phase, with seismic surveys and drilling of wells, will continue over the next few years in the region, with a view to making new discoveries.