The process of unbundling the Brazilian natural gas market has begun to take its first steps in recent weeks. Owner of practically all the gas pipelines in the country, Petrobras confirmed, in August, its intention not to enter as a carrier of the Itaboraí-Guapimirim project, the first gas pipeline to be auctioned under the concession regime in Brazil.
Valor learned that the state-owned company decided to participate in the project as a loader (a gas producer, distributor or trader that hires the capacity of a pipeline). Petrobras' decision prevents, through the new regulation, the company's participation in the construction and operation of the Itaboraí-Guapimirim project.
Petrobras was the only company to show interest in contracting the capacity of the gas pipeline, during the public call process opened by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
In response to pressure from the industry for a more competitive environment, the ANP established, in 2013, new rules that promise to restrict Petrobras' participation as a carrier in future gas pipelines. Currently, the state-owned company operates virtually the entire gas transport network in the country, with the exception of the Lateral de Cuiabá pipeline, which connects Bolivia to Mato Grosso.
As the state-owned company also dominates gas production, the ANP understood that it was necessary to intervene to break down barriers to the entry of new players in the market.
The agency's Resolution 51/2013 prohibits cross-participation between shippers and carriers in the next concession gas pipelines. The veto will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. That is, for each gas pipeline granted, companies will be able to choose whether they want to contract the capacity of the pipeline or build and operate it. As Petrobras is a large producer, the tendency is for the company to move away from transport in future gas pipelines to be auctioned.
The first test of the new rules will be precisely the bidding process for the Itaboraí-Guapimirim project (RJ), just 11 kilometers long, which aims to transport gas from Comperj's future natural gas processing units (UPGNs) to the Gasduc III gas pipeline, which connects the Cabiúnas production center, in Macaé (RJ), to the Reduc refinery, in Duque de Caxias (RJ). The dimensioned capacity for the project is 17 million cubic meters of gas per day.
As it is practically a dedicated branch of the oil company, the expectation was that the company would choose to enter the bidding process as a loader, opening up space for new transport players. The ANP's objective, with the new rules, is to attract the interest of contractors and investment funds for gas pipelines.
The ANP forecast is to bid for the concession of the Itaboraí-Guapimirim project, effectively, in the first half of 2015. The regulatory agency initially set the maximum annual revenue of the pipeline at R$ 20,579 million. The estimated investment for construction is R$ 112,32 million, according to the Energy Research Company (EPE).
The public call for contracting the undertaking's capacity, carried out last month, is just the first phase of the bidding process.
Source: Valor Econômico
By: Andre Ramalho
