Despite noting that fuel supply is regular throughout the country, the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) announced that it will intensify the monitoring of S10 diesel oil imports.
Called Fuel Supply Warning, this is the second such announcement in less than four months. According to the ANP, the measure has as its background “the current global geopolitical situation”.
The notice was approved on the 30th and published on the 1st of July. With it, listed producers and distributors will need to inform the contracts signed for diesel imports that have not yet arrived in the country, with details of the complete itinerary and forecasts of operations – whether carried out with the foreign market directly or through third parties.
The document was published at the time the agency approved the holding of a consultation and public hearing to discuss the proposal that foresees increasing the minimum stock of S-10 diesel in Brazil.
The intention is to extend the period to nine days, also in order, according to the ANP, to avoid fuel shortages in the country. Currently, the shelf life is three to five days.
The proposed change in the reserve generated criticism from one of the biggest players in the sector in the country, the Brazilian Institute of Oil and Gas (IBP). The entity understands that the measure, if actually approved, could generate even more price increases at the pump at gas stations.
IBP technicians believe that, with this, the distributors would lead a race to the importers to increase their stocks, comply with the rule and avoid fines. This movement would generate more expensive prices at the tip.
As disclosed by the ANP in its latest bulletin, the average price of S10 diesel, the less polluting type, is R$7.66. The S500 costs, on average, R$ 7.55 in the country. This year alone, diesel has already undergone four readjustments: 8% in January, 24.9% in March, 8.87% in May and 14.26% in June.
In May, the then president of Petrobras, José Mauro Coelho, sent a letter to the ANP, issuing an official warning about the “high risk of diesel shortages in the Brazilian market in the second half of 2022”.
On the 27th of the same month, the Ministry of Mines and Energy reported that the country had a stock of S10 diesel oil equivalent to 38 days of importation. Last week, the federal government announced that the current reserve was extended to 46 days.
Even with the situation apparently more controlled and the risk reduced, there is still concern about the impacts of external factors on fuel supply in Brazil, such as the war in Ukraine and the hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. Here in the country, in the second half of the year, according to the ANP, there is usually an increase in demand due to the flow of crops.
With information from Elis Barreto and Pedro Duran
Source: CNN Brasil
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