The Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, told the CNN this Friday (17) that the federal government managed to take measures not to have rationing this year given the serious water crisis that the country has gone through.
The minister, however, did not detail what these measures were. “As a result of our electricity sector, we had all the governance to keep us with the country having energy and also not having any possibility of suffering rationing or blackouts”, he said.
About the situation of the reservoirs, Albuquerque reassured: “We are going to start 2022 with the reservoirs in good condition, they are not ideal conditions, but they are in good condition”. The minister also highlighted the shutdown of thermoelectric plants and the rainy season in which the country is currently.
Bento Albuquerque highlighted that the electricity sector had “an expansion of 16% in generation and 17% in transmission” and that with the results of the energy transmission auction held today, it will be possible to expand transmission lines by almost 900km.
The minister considered “a success” the oil and transmission auctions held this Friday (17th). According to Albuquerque, the second largest oil and gas auction in the world was held today. The values were celebrated by Albuquerque, who highlighted that a favorable “business environment for investments” is being created in Brazil.
The Sépia and Atapu pre-salt fields were acquired by two consortia, each with three companies, which won the lots, with a total bonus collected by the government of around R$ 11 billion.
The two areas offered are located in the Santos Basin, the most important for oil extraction in Brazilian waters and one of the most coveted regions in the world for the exploration of the commodity.
In the dispute involving energy transmission, the federal government offered five lots and all were sold. However, the discount reached 66.09%. The event is part of a series of auctions that will take place until the 21st, called “Energy Weeks” by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The expectation is to collect R$ 206.9 billion in private investments from the concessions, generating 160 thousand direct and indirect jobs.
When asked about green energy, the minister stated that Brazil has environmental control in the pre-salt region, and that the country will continue to produce and export oil and gas, as there is demand for energy sources. Bento Albuquerque considered that Brazil is an “example of energy transition and green transition” and that this process began 50 years ago with biofuel programs and construction of hydroelectric plants like Itaipu. “Our electrical matrix is the cleanest among the great economies”, he reinforced.
Regarding the bill approved by the Senate’s Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE) and establishing the collection of an export tax on oil, Albuquerque stated that the government “is not in favor of this tax”.
However, the minister highlighted initiatives that he considered important coming from Congress, such as the approval of the Legal Framework for Natural Gas. “As of 2022, we will have seven more companies, in addition to Petrobras, national and foreign, that is, we have many opportunities.”
Albuquerque reinforced that the federal government is “on schedule” regarding the privatization of Eletrobras. The minister commented that in the coming weeks the portfolio will have meetings with the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) and with the Investment Partnership Program (PPI) to enable what he considers to be one of the largest capitalizations in the world.
Reference: CNN Brasil
