Industry says emptying of ANP harms new gas market

Associations representing the industry and large energy consumers ask the government to speed up appointments to the board of the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels), which currently only has two holders for the five vacancies in the direction.

They claim that the scenario harms the process of opening up the Brazilian natural gas market, which depends on regulatory changes to facilitate the entry of new suppliers of the fuel and reduce Petrobras’ share.

“Regulation is important to provide predictability to negotiations and favor equal and non-discriminatory access to the market for new agents, in addition to ensuring investment decisions that are capital-intensive and have a long maturation period”, says the text.

Currently, only the director general, Rear Admiral Rodolfo Saboia, and director Symone Araújo are holders. Two other vacancies are occupied by substitutes chosen by the government from among the agency’s technical staff. The fifth chair is empty.

At this Thursday’s meeting (27), for example, only three directors decided on topics such as extending the term of contracts and questioning in court a decree by the government of São Paulo that favors the Cosan group by allowing Comgás to build a pipeline connecting the coast to the capital.

In addition to Saboia and Araújo, both appointed during the Bolsonaro government, the agency’s superintendent Marcelo Castilho occupied a vacancy as a substitute. His period in that role, however, ended shortly after the meeting.

The situation tends to get worse with the end of Araújo’s term, which expires in November. In December 2020, the Senate Infrastructure Services Commission approved the nomination of Tabita Loureiro for a vacancy in the direction of the ANP, but the plenary session of the House, necessary for her nomination, has not yet been held.

“It is essential to ensure the completeness of the governing body, which will be responsible for directing compliance with the regulatory agenda and the strategic execution of the necessary rules”, says the industry manifesto, which also calls for reinforcement in the technical area of ​​the regulatory body.

The text is signed by associations linked to the oil and gas, chemical, glass, textile, metallurgical, building materials and beer industries, among others.

The signatories claim that the new Gas Law, passed in 2021, brought expectations of greater competition in the supply of natural gas, but market development depends on rules to detail and put into practice the guidelines approved in Congress.

“In addition to its other multiple responsibilities, it is up to the Agency to face the gigantic challenge of designing and implementing the new rules that will guide the opening of the market in order to accelerate the transition to a competitive market”, highlight the authors of the manifesto.

The opening of the natural gas market was one of the first slogans of the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, right at the beginning of the term of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). When launching the program, Guedes promised a “cheap energy shock”, with a halving of the price of fuel.

So far, however, few companies have managed to break the state monopoly on gas supply. National producers, such as Shell and Petrorecôncavo, and liquefied gas importers, such as Golar Power and Compass, have already closed contracts with state distributors.

Only one major consumer, fertilizer manufacturer Unigel, was able to buy gas directly from producers, becoming a free consumer, a figure that is considered fundamental in the new model planned for the sector.

Forced by Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) to sell its stakes in gas pipelines and distributors, Petrobras has been in conflict with the sector after it announced 50% increases in the sale value of fuel in new contracts effective in 2022 .

Several states went to court and obtained injunctions against the high, which Petrobras justifies by saying that it will need to import gas at higher prices on the international market to be able to supply the market.

The ANP said it will not comment on the matter. The MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) has not yet expressed itself.