Firjan approves the new legal framework for natural gas, sanctioned and published in law this Friday (9/4) by the Presidency of the Republic. For the federation, the new law allows for a market environment with greater diversification of actors and opens the way for the resumption of the economy, with the materialization of important investments in the state and in the country.

Among other relevant points, the new framework establishes that the construction, expansion, operation and maintenance of gas pipelines should be carried out under an authorization regime and no longer through a concession. This will enable an open, agile and competitive gas market, says the federation.

Even before the sanction, the new natural gas law already confirms investment expectations, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, as the announcement made by the consortium of block BM-C-33 - formed by Equinor, Petrobras and Repsol Sinopec Brasil - of the gas pipeline flow of pre-salt gas production, Route 5. Firjan's study “Rio a Todo Gás”, released in July 2020, already confirmed the potential to unlock more than R $ 80 billion in investments in Brazil and expansion demand, in particular, with R $ 45 billion in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Also according to the study, each billion reais invested only for the construction phase of the new projects can generate more than 14 thousand direct and indirect jobs, and more than R $ 80 million in income effect in the state of Rio. The impacts should reach all the links in the natural gas value chain - from disposal to consumption in various industrial segments, such as steel, petrochemicals, fertilizers, glass, ceramics and salt. In addition, there is also a relevant opportunity for the expansion of CNG in light and heavy vehicles.

In the assessment of Firjan, the Gas Law is fundamental for Brazil and, mainly, for the state of Rio to achieve a new market dynamics for this input, because in addition to attracting new investments in a competitive environment in the country, it also has the potential to reduce the final price to the consumer.