With the purpose of increasing natural gas supplies and transportation capacity in Brazil, Petrobras and the Chinese stateowned oil group, Sinopec, are signing today an engineering, procurement and construction agreement for the Cabiúnas-Vitória (Gascav) gas pipeline.

This is the first stretch of Gasene, the Southeast-Northeast Gas Pipeline, which will interconnect carry natural gas suppliers in the Southeast and Northeast regions.

The Vitória – Cacimbas pipeline - 125 km long and already under construction - and the Cacimbas-Catu gas pipeline, the longest stretch at 765 km and in the project phase, are also part of the Gasene project. The contract is for US$ 239 million and involves the construction of the gas pipeline over a 15-month period as from signature date.

Gascav will have a daily throughput of 20 million cubic meters, measures 28-inches in diameter, will be about 300km in length and will be constructed in three stages.

Stretch A, 78 km in length, begins at the Cabiúnas terminal on the northern seaboard of the state of Rio de Janeiro and ends at the delivery point in Campos de Goytacazes (RJ). Here, stretch B begins - approximately 126 km in length -, ending at the future Piúma compression station located on the coast of the state of Espírito Santo.

The third stretch of the gas pipeline will run about 96 km from the Piúma compression station to the pressure reduction station in the city of Serra (ES).