Rotork pipeline valve actuators have been supplied for a new transportation network that has heralded a fundamental improvement in the use of energy products in the Amazonian region by enabling natural gas to be used instead of diesel and fuel oil, particularly for the generation of electricity.

To date, over one hundred Rotork HPG high pressure gas and EH electro-hydraulic actuators have been installed on the pipeline network. The inauguration of the 661km Urucu-Coari-Manaus gas pipeline portion of the project marks the beginning of operations for one of Brazil’s largest gas transportation projects.

The significance of the project has been endorsed by the presence of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the official opening of the pipeline at the Refinery Isaac Sabbá in November 2009. The new gas pipeline’s initial transportation capacity is 4.1 million cum per day, which will rise to 5.5 million during 2010 when two intermediate compressor stations between Urucu and Coari come on-line.

The pipeline is operated by Transpetro and, as with the company’s other pipelines, is designed for remote, automated control from the National Operational Control Center in Rio de Janiero.