Book deals with advantages and challenges of this energy source, as well as possible means for expanding its use
The FAPESP Shell Research Centre for Gas Innovation (RCGI) has just launched the book Oportunidades e Desafios do Gás Natural e do Gás Natural Liquefeito no Brasil (“Opportunities and Challenges of Natural Gas and Liquified Natural Gas in Brazil”). The authors are Edmilson Moutinho dos Santos, Professor at the Institute of Energy and the Environment of the University of São Paulo and an RCGI researcher, and researchers Drielli Peyerl and Anna Luisa Abreu Netto, also from the Centre. It deals with several aspects of the expanding use of natural gas and liquified natural gas (LNG) in Brazil.
LNG is obtained from the purification of natural gas. In this process, the gas is subjected to a temperature of -162°C, where it goes from its gaseous state to a liquid, thus facilitating its transport, which was previously done via gas pipelines. This expanded the supply and the use of natural gas. In 2019, with the signing of a Transport Termination Agreement between the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) and Petrobras, the company has been taking steps to make it feasible to use natural gas throughout the country.
According to Santos, the book presents a series of measures that can be taken to increase the use of natural gas in Brazil and discusses whether this would be a more sustainable path, in terms of energy usage. While looking into the opportunities for LNG, the book deals with the possibilities for developing other modes of transport, so that the gas can be distributed without pipelines. “These are recurring issues for which the RCGI and its researchers have presented relevant answers, as they go more deeply into the research,” he states. The authors also talk about the measures that petroleum and natural gas industries can take to reduce their impact on climate change.
The book launching ceremony, which occurred during a webinar held by the RCGI on February 9, included the special participation of Décio Oddone, who was the General Director of the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) from December 2016 to March 2020, and is currently the CEO of ENAUTA. During his opening remarks, Oddone emphasized the importance of academe in the production of high-level knowledge regarding the opportunities and the importance of natural gas in Brazil. However, he reminded that energy transition processes continue at an accelerating pace across the world and the window of opportunity for natural gas could close at any time.
The book is available for download, free of charge, in English and Portuguese, at this link: https://www.rcgi.poli.usp.br/book-opportunities-and-challenges-of-natural-gas-and-liquefied-natural-gas-in-brazil/