Brazil expects GDP boost from gas liberalisation decision
A Brazilian decision to liberalise the gas market will lead to improvements in job creation and the economy, analysis from April 9 found.
A decade in the making, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro today signed off on a new gas bill designed to increase competition and lower the price of gas.
Brazilian think tank Energy Research Company estimates the new regime could boost natural gas production by 8% from current levels to 5.2bn ft3/day by 2030, create 4mn jobs and add 0.5% to the nation’s gross domestic product within the next 10 years.
Part of the regulatory framework allows industrial consumers to buy directly from suppliers, something that would normally fall to state-owned Petrobras.
Implementation is not without its challenges, however, as Petrobras controls 70% of total Brazilian gas production and 100% of the gas imports.
Bolsonaro has been frustrated with Petrobras, known formally as Petroleo Brasileiro, for most of his tenure, sacking former head Roberto Castello Branco early this year and replacing him with former defence minister Joaquim Silva e Luna, who has no experience in the oil industry.
The company itself, meanwhile, has been on a divestment binge since late 2020, unloading pipeline assets, as well as gas fields both on and offshore.