Government proposes to Congress a law that allows companies access to the fuel logistics structure

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) sent a bill to the National Congress to expand access to fuel transport infrastructure for different companies. The movement promises to reduce prices to consumers amid the electoral race, in which the current Chief Executive appears in second place in the polls.

The message forwarding the text was published in the DOU (Official Journal of the Union) this Friday (19).

The proposal, prepared by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Ministry of Economy, seeks to promote changes in the National Energy Policy to allow third-party access to transport pipelines and waterway terminals. In addition, it provides that unused capacity can be contracted by any interested party, as provided for in the regulation.

According to the government, the bill aims to “increase competition in the fuel market, encourage investments and, thus, reduce prices to consumers”.

The text, signed by ministers Paulo Guedes (Economy) and Adolfo Sachsida (Mines and Energy), seeks to strengthen the role of the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels) “in guaranteeing non-discriminatory access to infrastructure by third parties and mitigate risks, especially those associated with the formation of regional monopolies.”

The proposal also includes “legal unbundling” for the transport activity, reflecting concepts, according to the government, already used in the natural gas industry and in the electricity sector, to promote “transparency and non-discriminatory access”.

In a note, the Ministry of Mines and Energy says that, if the rule is approved, the ANP will have new instruments to curb the conduct of regulated agents that are in disagreement with the access rules.

“This should promote the maximization of the use of transport pipelines and waterway terminals and, consequently, allow products to reach the markets in a more efficient way, reducing logistical costs and contributing to the guarantee of national supply, with the potential to reduce costs. fuel prices”, he says.

The government argues that the measure has a structuring character and is “fundamental in the context of opening up the fuel market, especially with the process of selling Petrobras’ refining and logistics assets”.