Brazilian Natural Gas as a Low-Carbon Energy Transition Resource

This chapter discusses the role of natural gas as an energy transition resource to a low-carbon economy in Brazil. To this end, the country’s natural gas infrastructure and market are analysed. The national energy plan produced by the Brazilian Energy Research Enterprise (Empresa de Pesquisa Energética, in Portuguese) is also evaluated, mainly regarding the perspectives for demand and consumption of natural gas in the country for the next decade. The production of renewable versus non-renewable energy in Brazil is also discussed, seeking to identify how the increase in demand and natural gas production impacts this relationship. The country has a perspective of increasing both production and demand for natural gas for the next decade. However, market and infrastructure barriers have been restraining the internal use of natural gas and increasing external dependence because of the greater demand. This increase in natural gas demand has been caused mainly by the electricity sector. It is justified by the need to obtain more energy and not replace other, more carbon-intensive resources. In terms of production, the outlook is Brazil becoming a growing producer of non-renewable energy because of increased exploration of oil and gas fields. Finally, Brazilian natural gas can be understood as an element of the transition to a low-carbon economy from four perspectives (i) as a guarantor of the security of electric supply in a context of increased participation of variable renewables; (ii) as a substitute of more carbon-intensive resources, mainly in the industry; (iii) as an energy source exported for international energy transition, being used in countries whose energy supply mix has a high carbon footprint, and, (iv) as input for hydrogen production.