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Minister: Brazil's Government wants lower prices on natgas pipelines and processing

Brazil could lower prices for companies to access gas pipelines and units that process natural gas in an effort to reduce consumer prices, said Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira on Tuesday.

Silveira spoke at an event just hours before the Government released a study on this topic.

Petrobras, a state-owned oil company, is the largest operator of pipelines for transporting raw materials produced offshore. This is where the majority of Brazil's production originates. It also operates gas processing units onshore.

In Brazil, offshore producers pay Petrobras or private companies to use their processing and pipeline infrastructure. The government considers the cost to be too high and passes it on to consumers.

Silveira, without mentioning Petrobras and other energy companies in Brazil, said that the current system made gas more expensive. He added that he had been tasked by Brazil’s President Luiz-Inacio Lula Da Silva to find ways of lowering gas prices.

A study by Brazil's Energy Research Company, EPE, details the government's proposals and estimates of how much they would reduce prices for gas pipelines and units.

Petrobras didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. (Reporting and writing by Marta Nogueira, Fabio Teixeira, Editing by Richard Chang).

(source: Reuters)