Several events have been moving the Gas market in Brazil, especially related to natural gas. We had different initiatives from the federal government in the sphere of promoting competition, in addition to the continuation of Petrobras' divestment plan. These events culminated in the program called: “New Gas Market”, coordinated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and developed in partnership with the Civil House, Ministry of Economy, CADE, ANP and EPE.
An important part of this program is the agreement signed between CADE and Petrobras, the cease-and-desist commitment term, which determines a series of divestments to be carried out by the company. On the one hand, several demobilizations have been taking place normally during the pandemic, as were the cases of the land fields at Polo Macau in Rio Grande do Norte.
Other movements had some of their deadlines for offers postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic and are in the early stages of the process at the beginning of the second half of 2020. This is the case of two very important assets for the natural gas chain: Gaspetro (in which the company has a 51% stake) and the remaining stake ( 10%) at Nova Transportadora do Sudeste (NTS). The original teasers for these opportunities, which were released in February and March 2020 respectively, have suffered multiple delays and are in a non-binding phase, where potential buyers receive invitation letters with instructions and guidelines for proposals. However, there is a possibility that these deadlines and scopes may be changed if there is disinterest or offers below expectations, a situation already contemplated in the TCC signed with CADE.
Figure 1 – Gaspetro holds stakes in the vast majority of natural gas distributors in the country. Source: Gaspetro
Another important milestone for the natural gas market that had its schedule paused due to the pandemic was the Public call for allocation of Gasbol capacity, a gas pipeline that connects Bolivia and Brazil with a length of 3150 kilometers. Given the country's economic and social scenario and the consequent difficulty for interested agents to participate, the process was postponed without a set date for resumption.
In any case, even with the pandemic, a new scenario is beginning to emerge in the Natural Gas market in the country. Despite some disagreements and postponements, Petrobras' divestment plan in key assets for the gas chain continues to be maintained and active. Here at ILOS, we are following the new stages of these processes so that, finally, we have a different natural gas market in Brazil, with greater productivity, different players and well-developed infrastructure shared between agents for better logistics and competitiveness in the sector.
References:
- Agência Petrobras – Petrobras completes the sale of seven onshore fields
- Petrobras Agency – Petrobras signs contract for the sale of onshore fields
- Terciotti – Gaspetro and NTS in non-binding phase
- ANP – Gasbol postponed public call for capacity allocation
