Silveira criticizes the price of natural gas in Brazil and demands action from Petrobras

The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, criticized the price of natural gas in Brazil on Monday (16). According to him, the price is “absurd” and has a direct impact on industrial sectors. “The price of natural gas in Brazil is absurd and harms our energy-intensive industry,” said Silveira, during the seminar “Gas for Employment,” promoted by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP).

As a solution to reduce the price, Silveira advocated increasing domestic supply and demanded action from Petrobras. “There is no justification for this. It is important that Petrobras is aware of the importance of increasing the supply of gas,” he stated.

Silveira also denied that there was any intervention in the company and said that, if there were, “it would not continue to be as valued as it is”.

He then cited the mining company Vale as an example for expansion and said that “briquetization of iron ore” should be done in Brazil. “Today, the rate is extremely low: less than 15% of our iron ore is briquetted in Brazil,” he said.

According to the minister, the price of fuel has a direct impact on Vale's activities. "Are we going to require Vale to briquet gas in Brazil at US$14 per million BTU (equivalent to 26.8 cubic meters), when it has the same gas at US$4 in Oman?" he said.

Silveira's statements come amid pressure from businesspeople and industrialists for a reform in the input's pricing structure, considered one of the main obstacles to the recovery of the national industry's competitiveness.

The minister also stated that investments are underway to increase the supply of natural gas. One of the projects mentioned by Silveira is that of the Norwegian oil company Equinor, which is expected to add 18 million cubic meters per day to the national system. He also mentioned the possibility of increasing gas imports from Argentina, from the Vaca Muerta formation.