Companies that want to develop technologies for the use of natural gas generated by the extraction of oil from the pre-salt will have the support of the Federal Government for the development of these projects. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) launched on March 24 a public call in the amount of R$ 15 million for the financing of these technologies. The Public Notice was presented in the city of São Vicente, on the coast of São Paulo.

The public call will finance technologies that make this change possible in 5 thematic lines. These are: separation of CO2² gas and other contaminants, liquefaction of on-board natural gas, transformation of natural gas into synthesis gas, transformation of synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbons and the use of gas to produce electricity at the wellhead through of plants installed on gas-to-wire (GTW) platforms.

“The gas that is generated in the pre-salt today, which is abundant, is not being used economically, we have to develop technologies so that this gas is used by Brazilian society and that is the objective of this selection”, explained Otávio Augusto Burgardt, director of Innovation at the Financier of Studies and Projects, FINEP, linked to the MCTI. The resource will be operated by the Financier and comes from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT).

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, astronaut Marcos Pontes, participated in the launch and highlighted the importance of this type of public call for the country's development. “If we want a city, a country that is successful, companies have to be successful. Company has to make a profit; nonprofit company closes. It needs to make a profit and with that produce new services, new products, produce wealth, invoices and, with that, it will produce jobs and these employed people spend more on commerce to have a better quality of life. This whole cycle is what makes wealth”, highlighted the minister.

The secretary of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at MCTI, Paulo Alvim, explained the reason for launching the Public Notice in the city of São Vicente. “Our MCTI mission involves producing knowledge, but we need to transform it into wealth and improve the quality of life of our population. And it's no wonder we're here. When we talk about instruments to leverage economic activity, we have to be close to the territories that will be impacted, so launching this call has to be in regions where this is reality”.

It is worth remembering that the resource available in this public call that finances the development of technologies for the monetization of natural gas from pre-salt exploration is non-refundable, that is, it is not necessary to return it to the Union. The Notice with the details of the call is now available on the FINEP/MCTI website and the deadline for submitting proposals ends on June 23 this year.