Petrobras has suggested to ANP that the launch of the natural gas market deconcentration program be postponed to 2031, proposing significant changes to the scope of the regulatory measure.
Petrobras has sent proposals to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels to redesign the natural gas market deconcentration program, known as the gas release. The state-owned company argues that the mechanism is unnecessary given the current maturity level of Brazil’s energy sector and is asking for implementation to be delayed until the next decade.
The debate intensifies regulatory discussions and creates friction behind the scenes in Brasília. While the regulatory agency defends moving the agenda forward to foster competition, the oil company argues that the current model could bring instability and discourage new investments in infrastructure and supply.
Schedule and Program Resizing
The initial format designed by the regulatory agency projected annual auctions starting in 2027, with the conclusion of the first cycle in 2030. In contrast, the oil company suggests that any rounds should only take place between 2031 and 2034, requiring new impact analyses before each stage.
The company emphasizes that the intervention mechanism must be strictly temporary.
Because it is an exceptional, temporary, and highly intensive intervention in freedom of contract and the availability of the agent’s volumes, the program should only remain in force as long as the conditions that justified its adoption persist and as long as its competitive benefits outweigh the associated costs and risks.
Exclusion of Foreign Assets and Contractual Counterarguments
Another central point defended by the state-owned company’s board is the complete preservation of volumes originating from its own production abroad and from import contracts via the Bolivia-Brazil Pipeline. For the company, these supplies reflect independently assumed risks and do not constitute an abuse of a dominant position in the domestic market.
The oil company also requests the removal of mechanisms such as customer release and the figure of the market maker from the main rule. According to the corporation, interfering with existing contracts without explicit legal backing undermines legal certainty and compromises the financial return of major recently approved projects in the oil and gas sector.
Petrobras‘s resistance poses an additional challenge for regulatory and antitrust bodies in their search for a consensus on opening up the energy market. The definition of the gas release roadmap will remain on the radar of companies and investors, who are awaiting the next regulatory chapters to recalibrate their long-term strategies in the country.
