Brazil gets moving on gas competition
The government has progressed on freeing Petrobras from its unwanted dominance of the domestic gas market
Brazil is finally getting serious about loosening the hegemonic grip of Petrobras, the state-owned oil and gas company, on the country's gas industry, almost ten years since regulatory reforms failed to kickstart greater market competition. Allowing Petrobras to sell off assets and get out of non-core sectors is central to the government's natural gas strategy. In July, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro inaugurated the New Gas Market programme, aimed at cutting the domestic price of gas 40pc within two years, guaranteeing participation of new entrants and attracting greater investment to the natural gas sector. The current lack of gas market competition is stark. Petrobras controls around 7

Also in this section
16 April 2025
Israel continues to strike new oil and gas concession agreements and gas exports continue to rise, but an overreliance on Egypt remains the big concern
15 April 2025
Loss of US shipments of key petrochemical feedstock could see Beijing look to Tehran with tariffs set to upend global LPG flows
15 April 2025
Australia’s East Coast Gas projections for a supply shortfall have been pushed further out, but the challenge to meet evolving gas demand and the shifting assumptions around the fundamentals remain just as stark
15 April 2025
Long-delayed prospects for onshore LNG production in Mozambique have improved thanks to US financing approval, but security challenges blight way ahead