Gás natural no estado da Bahia: políticas públicas, marco regulatório e as contribuições para o processo de abertura do mercado

Abstract

The natural gas industry is experiencing a period of many new developments in the legal framework, in the actions of regulatory bodies and in public policies that have caused significant changes in this segment. In this context, the state of Bahia, which has been consolidating itself as a natural gas hub, has also been impacted by this process. This work aims to analyze the legal framework, public policies and how they contributed to the opening of the natural gas market underway in Bahia. The research's general objective is to analyze the process of opening the natural gas market in the state of Bahia in light of legislation and public policies implemented at national and local levels. The research sought to answer the following question: how did public policies and other legal instruments contribute to the process of opening the natural gas market underway in the state of Bahia? The research can be classified as exploratory, using bibliographic and documentary methods. We sought to analyze the legal-regulatory framework, public policies implemented from the 1990s onwards, in addition to checking reports from companies and institutions that are related to the theme, with a view to identifying the paths taken that allowed the industry to of natural gas reached its current stage. It was also necessary to highlight the importance of using natural gas in the energy transition process. To this end, we used the theoretical framework that supports the importance of natural gas in the current stage of energy transition. The research concluded that, in fact, the opening of the gas market in Brazil and Bahia is underway, which can be confirmed, especially in the state of Bahia, through some findings such as: i) the institution of the free market; ii) the diversification of suppliers contracted by Companhia de Gás da Bahia; iii) the recovery of onshore gas production in the state; iv) producers' access to oil and gas flow and processing structures owned by Petrobras; and v) the plurality of agents acting in the natural gas chain. The work points to the need for continued studies that can verify whether this process will be consolidated and the negative and positive consequences resulting from it. In addition to identifying gaps and needs for improvement in the regulatory framework