SÃO PAULO — On Thursday, July 30, 2026, the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE), the body responsible for defining Brazil’s energy policy guidelines, approved a resolution in an extraordinary meeting establishing new rules for commercializing the Union’s natural gas from the pre-salt layer in the free market.

These reserves, administered by Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA), a state-owned company linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, can now be sold via public auctions directly to customers in the free market. The measure will allow PPSA to auction its gas directly to industrial buyers, potentially increasing the amount of pre-salt gas available outside Petrobras.

Prior to this decision, PPSA sold its gas “at the wellhead” directly to Petrobras. Under the new rules, the state-owned company will be able to sell its volumes via short-term auctions between 2026 and 2030, and through long-term auctions starting in 2030, with direct delivery to the free market.

Negotiations are currently underway to secure PPSA’s access to outflow pipelines and natural gas processing facilities owned by Petrobras and other operators.

“This is a milestone that will truly contribute to bringing more competitiveness to natural gas in the country, reducing the cost of this input for the Brazilian industrial sector,” stated the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, in a press release.

According to the Ministry, the natural gas commercialized by PPSA will be prioritized for heavy industry segments that are intensive users of the fuel, such as the chemical, petrochemical, fertilizer, and steel industries.

“The Union’s natural Gas, currently sold by Petrobras in the Brazilian market at around US$12 per million BTU, could reach the national industry at roughly US$5 per million BTU. This represents a reduction of over 50%,” the Ministry noted.

Silveira further highlighted that an ongoing package of measures aims to increase supply and competition within the gas market. To achieve this, the government is advancing a broader set of initiatives that includes pushing for non-discriminatory access to outflow and processing infrastructure and increasing overall market transparency. The government is also seeking changes to pipeline and processing access rules, which could allow other suppliers to use infrastructure currently controlled by Petrobras and other operators.

“In this way, we not only meet a long-standing demand from various players in the national industry, but we also give the Union’s natural gas a distinct public policy purpose,” Minister Silveira assessed.

The new resolution amends CNPE Resolution No. 15 of October 29, 2018, which governs the commercialization of the input by PPSA.

PPSA Gains Prominence in Gas Market Strategy

PPSA is responsible for managing and commercializing the Union’s share of oil and natural gas in pre-salt production-sharing contracts. In recent years, the state-owned company has taken on an increasingly prominent role in the government’s energy strategy.

The auctions could turn the Union’s gas volumes into a more direct tool of energy and industrial policy. The regulatory framework currently under discussion at the CNPE seeks to balance commercial interests, legal certainty and economic efficiency when using existing infrastructure

Greater access to pre-salt gas could reduce energy costs for Brazil’s most gas-intensive industries, including chemicals, fertilizers, petrochemicals and steel. The auctions will determine how quickly those lower-cost volumes reach the market.