Brazil Gas: ANP Opens Plan to Break Petrobras Grip

On 7 August 2026, Brazil's oil and gas regulator, the ANP, initiated a 45-day public consultation on a controversial plan to release part of the gas Petrobras purchases from third parties. The proposal, backed by the mines and energy ministry, aims to break Petrobras's monopoly over the industrial gas market, which has some of the highest prices in the world.

The ANP wants Petrobras to auction off a portion of the gas it buys from other suppliers, such as Bolivian imports via the Gasbol pipeline, to other traders and marketers. The proposal preserves 100% of Petrobras's own production and seeks to release contracts corresponding to 14% of market demand by 2030. The ANP argues that this move is necessary to reduce the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), which currently stands at a highly concentrated 3,747, and to bring down gas prices.

Petrobras, however, is strongly opposed, maintaining that its pricing reflects international benchmarks and transport costs. The regulator's proposal is a regulatory tool that forces a dominant player to sell a portion of its product to other companies at regulated terms, with the goal of promoting competition in the market. The public consultation is a standard Brazilian regulatory step, during which the ANP publishes the full technical and legal details of the gas release proposal and allows all interested parties to submit written feedback.

After the consultation, the ANP may hold public hearings and technical sessions to finalize the details. The outcome of this battle will have significant implications for Brazilian industry, foreign investors, and the overall energy landscape in the country.