Sep 28, 2026
Major Ethanol Pipeline Proposed for Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Inpasa, one of the main corn-ethanol producers in Brazil, announced plans to build a pipeline for the movement of ethanol between the city of Sinop in northern Mato Grosso to the city of Paulinia in the state of Sao Paulo. The 2,100-kilometer pipeline could transport 13.3 million cubic meters of ethanol to Paulinia, the country's main fuel distribution center and, from there, to the Port of Santos for export. A second pipeline will take 6.6 million cubic meters of petroleum derivatives from Paulina towards Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. The planned investment is R$ 22 billion (approximately US$ 4.3 billion).
The proposed route of the pipeline would follow Highway BR-163 through central Mato Grosso and then go to Rondonopolis in southeastern Mato Grosso and on to the petrochemical hub of Paulina, Sao Paulo.
It is estimated the project would eliminate 225,000 truck trips annually and reduce carbon emissions by 500,000 tons.
The project was presented to Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment) to obtain an environment license. After licensing, the project is expected to take five years for completion and be among the largest infrastructure projects in the country.
Corn-ethanol production in the North and mid-North regions of Mato Grosso has been growing year by year. Recent statistics indicate that regional production has increased from 11.3 million to 16.2 million cubic meters, approaching 50% of the national production.
The graph below is from Rabobank's RaboResearch "Corn Ethanol in Brazil - yellow alert for sugar", January 2026 and it illustrates the rapid increase in corn-ethanol production in Brazil from basically zero in 2017.