Energy

ME Secretary reminds that onerous assignment will place the country among the world's five largest oil producers

The year 2019 represents a crucial moment in relation to the revision of the legal frameworks of the energy sector as a fundamental instrument for promoting the country's economic development, Deputy Special Finance Secretary Esteves Colnago said on Thursday morning. ), by opening the Second Secap Energy Seminar.

Colnago emphasized that this work has been underpinned by sound policies of broadening competition and stimulating private investment, regulatory security and predictability, transparency and dialogue with market players, and respect for the role of institutions.

In his speech, Colnago highlighted programs such as the New Gas Market, the end of price differentiation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and the sale of Petrobras refineries. And it was emphatic in speaking of the revision of the assignment contract:

"The revision made it possible to publish the auction for the surplus of the assignment, with projected investments of over US $ 200 billion, with an initial grant bonus of US $ 106 billion that will be shared between the Union, states and municipalities, generating impacts. The success of the auction will place Brazil among the five largest oil producers in the world, "he said, mentioning the auction scheduled for November 6, which should become the largest in the world in terms of oil revenue. .

In his speech, the secretary also made a point of pointing out the convergence of the work that has been done among the main actors involved: Ministry of Economy (ME), Civil House, Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Administrative Council for Economic Defense ( Cade), National Petroleum Agency (ANP) and Energy Research Company (EPE).

Eletrobras
Esteve Colnago cited the discussion of the draft bill that deals with the privatization of Eletrobras. For him, more than a fiscal policy, the privatization of the state is fundamental for the energy sector. 
"Eletrobras today has as its main shareholder the Union, which currently has little capacity to make the necessary investments for a company of its size and its importance for our energy production," he defended.

The secretary stressed the need for discussions such as those promoted by the Secap Seminar, capable of extending the work of improving the legal frameworks of the electricity sector to ensure that productivity gains resulting from modernization "effectively transform into new investments, job creation and economic development for the country ".

Debates 
During the debate on the New Gas Market - a program that foresees the effective breaking of Petrobras' monopoly in the natural gas market - MME Deputy Executive Secretary Bruno Eustáquio stated that the government's goal with the program is to double natural gas production in Brazil in the coming years, which represents 30-50% of the cost of the industrial sector.

In this context, Cade's general superintendent, Alexandre Cordeiro stated that the Cessation Commitment Agreement (TCC) - signed between Cade and Petrobras last July, in which the state-owned company commits to free access to the gas pipelines and to the entire company. industry-critical infrastructure - represents one of the most important agreements signed by the Council in recent times. 

"Cade has taken a more proactive action in defense of Brazilian competitiveness. Our performance has been in line with the political will of this government, with less political intervention in the market," he defended. 

Competitiveness 
The former president of the São Paulo Gas Company (Congas) and Oxford Institute for Energy Studies doctoral professor, Ieda Gomes, contextualized the fact that 2018 recorded a world record for natural gas consumption, as a result of low prices and large supply of international production, while consumption growth in Latin America was stagnant and in Brazil was negative.

"Brazil only correlates with international prices when LNG prices are up," he mused. While in Brazil industry pays almost $ 14 per million BTU, in Europe - where many countries do not even have production and rely on imported gas. - This is around $ 7 to 8 per million BTU, while in the US it is less than $ 4 per million BTU.

"The secret of competitiveness is that you have a lot of supply and many agents operating," emphasized Ieda Gomes.