The opening of the oil and natural gas market, in 1997, and the approval of the Gas Law, in 2021, were not enough to reduce Petrobras’ predominance in the natural gas market, evaluates the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). In order to try to reduce this market concentration, the agency’s board approved at its meeting on Thursday, 25th – the only one held this month -, to publish a Technical Note on the Concentration Reduction Program and prepare a regulatory impact analysis (AIR ) About the subject.
“The objective of the study presented in Joint Technical Note No. 2/2023, prepared by the ANP’s Competition Defense and Infrastructure and Handling areas, is to provide a competitive diagnosis, considering the current structure of the national natural gas industry, as well as to analyze the behavior of the market in the different links of this industry”, informs the ANP.
The technical note demonstrates that, after the easing of the state monopoly determined by the Petroleum Law of 1997 did not obtain relevant results, the effective opening of the natural gas market resulting from the most recent public policies also did not result in the expected deconcentration in the potentially competitive advantages of the natural gas industry in Brazil. “This fact motivates the adoption of other mechanisms to promote market deconcentration and stimulate both efficiency and competition in the different links of this industry”, he explains.
The diagnosis in the technical note points to recent advances in freeing up capacity in the transport network and the start of third-party natural gas processing in natural gas processing units (UPGNs).
“However, these gains still represent a small and localized reduction in the incumbent’s market share, which does not guarantee a natural deconcentration of the market capable of ensuring healthy competition throughout the national territory”, says the agency.
Also according to the ANP, article 12 of the National Energy Policy Council Resolution (CNPE) nº 3/2022 recommended that the agency, in articulation with the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), and with the then Ministry of Economy (ME) and with the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), to prepare a diagnosis on the competitive conditions of the natural gas market, as well as a proposal for a program for the progressive release of this energy source by the agent with a relevant position (Petrobras).
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