The use of gas in the generation of electricity has grown in Macaé and the city already has 12 projects by large oil companies

The city of Macaé currently has 12 oil company projects that are betting on gas to generate electricity, thus following in the footsteps of Petrobras. Faced with the country's water crisis, the municipality already has business model projects – one of which the company producing natural gas uses the input to generate electricity through its own thermoelectric plant – which are already in progress. The goal is to use the gas generated through the pre-salt layer to generate electricity. See also: Electrician, painting inspector, mechanic, operator, driller and others are being called for job openings in Macaé, Vitória and Catu

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Projects that use gas to generate electricity

Since 2001, Petrobras has used this model of generating electricity using gas, when it was inaugurated during the energy rationing crisis. And it was after the discovery of a large volume of gas in the pre-salt that using it for power generation gained more importance.

The oil company Shell, a partner of Petrobras, following this niche, is building the Marlim Azul thermal power plant, in Macaé, which will be the first to transform pre-salt gas into electricity in Brazil, with start-up scheduled for 2023. Anglo-Dutch company has a 29% stake in Arke Energia, responsible for the project. Alongside it are Mitsubishi (20%), which also manufactures equipment for the electricity sector, and financial partner Pátria Investimentos, with 51% of the capital.

Other large foreign oil companies investing in pre-salt fields, such as Total, Equinor, CNPC and CNOOC, are also candidates to form partnerships in thermal generation projects using gas in the Macaé region.

Municipality of Macaé has great potential for power generation and could become the 'new Itaipu'

In May, during a meeting with the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque; and the national secretary of Oil, Gas and Biofuels, José Mauro; the mayor of Macaé, Welberth Rezende, went so far as to state that the city has great capacity to become a 'new Itaipu', being able to assume the national leadership in the production of electric energy.

Mayor Welberth Rezende said that “We already have a Gas Processing Unit (UPGN) which is the largest in Latin America, which is Cabiúnas, with a capacity to produce 25 million cubic meters. We already have a project to build a UPGN unit with the capacity to process more than 60 million cubic meters. This all shows the potential that the city has to provide energy for Brazil”.

The Cabiúnas Terminal, in Macaé

Cabiúnas already receives most of its gas from Petrobras, which is going to invest in another unit, with greater capacity, transforming the County in a kind of gas 'hub'. At the time of the meeting, Minister Bento Albuquerque pointed out that the Federal Government is interested in investing in the city, as Macaé is the destination for the main gas routes in Brazil.