A collective of 26 business and consumer advocacy groups is calling for the autonomy of the ANP and the acceleration of the Gas Release program to unlock market competition.
More than five years after the enactment of the Gas Law, the Brazilian industrial sector is once again demanding progress in the modernization of the natural gas market. An influential group of 26 organizations, including Abrace Energia, Abiquim, and the Instituto Aço Brasil, released a manifesto this week, emphasizing that promises of market deconcentration and more competitive pricing have yet to materialize.
The organizations are focused on preserving the technical autonomy of the ANP (National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels). For these groups, the regulatory agency must be able to conduct, free from interference, the pending processes that ensure fair access to critical infrastructure and the effective execution of the Gas Release program.
The price gap and market needs
The report presented by the group points to a concerning distortion in current pricing. While the wellhead cost of the commodity is around $3.8/MMBtu, the final price passed on to distributors and industrial consumers climbs to nearly $12.4/MMBtu.
The signatories view this disparity as a direct reflection of a market that remains insufficiently competitive, where entry barriers prevent new players from accessing processing units and regasification terminals. Full implementation of the law is seen as the key to changing this dynamic.
Prioritizing technical expertise over politics
The organizations emphasize that the future of the sector depends on transparent regulatory procedures based on technical studies and public consultations conducted by the ANP. The document is categorical in rejecting any attempts to circumvent these procedures for the sake of external interests.
Political and economic pressures should not compromise the technical handling of these processes, and any disagreements regarding proposals must be addressed strictly within the scope of the consultations opened by the agency.
Projections and next steps
The pressure from industrial federations—such as those in Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Rio de Janeiro—signals growing impatience with the current pace of reform. The industrial sector, a major energy consumer, views the Gas Release as an essential tool to enable the entry of new suppliers and reduce energy costs in the country.
The impact of this mobilization will be closely monitored by market players and the federal government over the coming months. The success of this agenda will fundamentally depend on the ANP‘s ability to maintain its regulatory schedule and ensure that access to distribution infrastructure stops being a privilege and becomes a standard market practice.
