Brazil’s ethanol pipeline is getting closer to reality as a preliminary environmental license for the project was issued this week.

The $1.1 billion project, which is a partnership between Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), Mitsui & Co. and Camargo Correa SA, is designed to transport ethanol in a 337 mile pipeline from the producing regions in the Mid-West, Minas Gerais and São Paulo to the large consuming centers of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The project has been under development since early 2006 and is now scheduled to begin late next year.