Comgás prepares investments in pre-salt gas

Comgás, piped natural gas distributor controlled by Cosan, believes that, within six years, will begin to receive great product offering from increased oil exploration in the country, influenced mainly by pound pre-salt. To take advantage of the offer, the company needs to make investments that should be included in its next business plan-which comprises the period from 2014 to 2019.
The Director-President of Comgas, Luiz Henrique Guimarães, says he works for the receipt of this gas are complex, involving works in region of serra, and must be completed to make the production of the fields. Therefore, works of coastal connection to the company network should start in the next few years.
He does not report the value of the investment planned for the next business plan, which begins in May of next year. The total may vary according to resolution of the regulator-the regulatory agency for Sanitation and energy of the State of São Paulo (Arsesp). According to Guimaraes, the investment plans of the company have not changed after the Group Cosan sugar bought the 60% before belonging to BG (formerly British Gas).
Asked if total investments between may 2014 to 2019 will be larger than the $ 2.6 billion to be applied from 2009 to may 2014, he said emphatically that "may be". The new investment plan, the company will take into account, besides the structure to receive more gas from oil wells, expansion of network in higher speed than the registered so far.
Growth serves to try to achieve, mainly residential customers. The potential of the region in which Comgás operates is nine million residential customers, but the company only has 1.3 million customers today.
In recent years, Comgás is increasing disbursements in expansion to increase its network of customers. Today, the company earns 100 thousand residential customers per year. In the new plan, the company wants to increase the number to 120 thousand, which demand more investment. Were R $ 510 million in total investments of Comgás in 2011 and $ 616 million in 2012. The year 2013 will close at $ 870 million, according to the President, the company's biggest brand.
Residential customers are the big possibility of the company's expansion, as there are only 20% of the company's penetration in the segment-which is also responsible for just 5% of the company's sales. Already among industrial customers, the company has more than 90% penetration.
Some plans are being put into practice to increase sales in other business other than industrial-already considered "saturated". One of them is offering Commission at car dealerships that sell gas powered cars. Another is to offer the product to be used as an alternative in pizza ovens. "It seems silly, but look how many there are Pizzerias in Sao Paulo," he says.
Part of the investments until the beginning of 2015 will count on help from a capital issuance of debentures of $ 540 million, completed recently. According to Roberto Collares Lage, Director of finance and investor relations of Comgás, the demand was 4.5 times higher than the initial offer. The resources will be allocated to investments. "It's open hole and expand the network."