“The industries that are our customers have already returned completely. Some are even producing more than before, in order to be able to meet the demand ”, stated the president of Copergás, André Campos, who maintains daily contacts with the sector. The segments with the most accelerated production are steel, ceramics and glass.

The recovery began in August, when the level of consumption of natural gas was equal to that of the same month last year, and was consolidated in September. “Honestly, when we were here at the peak of the pandemic, we thought that the recovery would take too long. In the first projections we made, we would only return to the pre-pandemic volume in February 2021. The return was well ahead of expectations, ”said André.

The industrial segment is responsible for most of the consumption of the entire volume of natural gas distributed in Pernambuco. The participation makes the distribution of natural gas an indicator of the state's economic situation. Today Copergás has 106 industries connected to its supply network, and should end the year with 113.

“Copergás is a development partner in Pernambuco. We fulfill our obligation to supply the necessary fuel for the industries to resume their production, ensuring the conditions for this to happen without interruptions and in the proportion demanded ”, highlighted André.

For 2021 the direction of the economy in the country is still unknown - it is not known whether the current pace of recovery will be maintained at the same level. But in Copergás' planning, the next year points to the consolidation of an ambitious project: the extensive internalization of natural gas, taking the supply to Petrolina, in the Sertão de Pernambuco, and Garanhuns, in Agreste.

The action in the two municipalities is the result of a partnership signed last July between Copergás and a world giant in the sector, Golar Power. As the construction of gas pipelines from Recife to the Sertão is very expensive, at first the energy source will arrive in the region through a pioneering solution: liquefied natural gas (liquid) will be transported in container trucks to the destination municipality. There, a regasification station will transform it into a gaseous form (natural gas), and distribution will be carried out by a local network of gas pipelines.

The operation creates conditions to attract new ventures to the region, heating the local economy and promoting regional development. In Petrolina, the works should start in January 2021. The regasification station will be installed on land donated by the government of Pernambuco and the local network of gas pipelines will be 40 km long. The forecast is that gas supply will start in the second quarter of the year, serving the first customers in the local industrial district. In the municipality Copergás already has a supply contract signed with Gypsum, a pioneer company in Brazil in drywall (technology that replaces traditional masonry, combining plasterboard with galvanized steel profiles). Then, the service will be extended to vehicle, residential and commercial supply. In Garanhuns the estimate is that the operation will be in operation at the end of the second quarter of 2021. In this municipality, Copergás also has a natural gas supply contract with DPA-Nestlé.

Operating in an area considered essential, Copergás did not interrupt any of its actions during the period of social isolation caused by the pandemic. It continued to work on expanding the distribution network and attracting new customers. The Company's network today comprises more than 900 km of gas pipelines (pipes through which natural gas travels to consumers). Over the next five years, it is planned to install an additional 490 km to the network.