ENERGY

Alexandre Manoel, Secap, presented the actions and vision of government in the various segments that affect the sector

Secretary Alexandre Manoel da Silva of the Ministry of Economy (ME) presented to the representatives of the gas and LNG industry in Brazil and the Americas the project of the New Gas Market in Brazil. He participated last Wednesday (22/5) at the CWC Brazil & The Americas Summit, an event that discussed prospects for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas and the regulation of these markets in Brazil. The meeting in Rio brought together government representatives, legislators and leaders of the gas industry.

 Alexandre Manoel, head of the Secretariat of Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery (Secap / ME), initially showed an overview of the current context of the Brazilian natural gas market, characterized by high concentration and uncompetitive prices.

 It reinforced the actions already taken to bring about changes in the legal framework of the sector and the opportunity presented by the supply shock arising from associated gas from the exploration of the pre-salt fields and other land-based opportunities.

 The presentation also reinforced that there is great convergence among the main public stakeholders , under the coordination of the Ministry of Mines and Energy. In addition, Petrobras is aligning its business plan to focus on the exploration and production segment, which opens up an opportunity and a responsibility for the state's movement to consider the regulatory issues that are important for the effective opening of the market.

 Measures

 The main measures highlighted for the exploration and production segment were the need to ensure negotiated access to the essential infrastructures for the disposal and processing of natural gas.

In the transportation segment, the need to release capacity by the incumbent agent, the introduction of the ANP input and output model, the need for coordination between the transporters for the safe operation of the pipeline networks and the need for unbundling were highlighted.

Finally, for the distribution segment, the importance of unbundling, harmonizing state regulations, especially with regard to the free consumer, the introduction of incentive regulation mechanisms, strong and autonomous regulatory agencies, and to accelerate the process of privatization of state natural gas distributors.

With the proposed measures, Alexandre Manoel foresees a more open market, with more competition between agents, leading to more competitive prices in the gas market, new investments in all segments of the natural gas industry, reduction of electricity costs ( thermoelectric generation) and increased competitiveness of the national industry.

With this, new investments, job creation and economic growth must occur. It is, therefore, in the secretary's view of the strategic agenda for the country's economic development.