THE GEOGRAPHY OF GAS DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS IN BRAZIL: CONCENTRATIONS, REGULATIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL DESIGNS

Abstract

The geographical comprehension of gas distribution networks in Brazilian national scale is the main objective of this work. Regulatory, economic, and operational issues were researched, added to mapping processes. Methodologically, the starting point was a data survey of the main extraction areas and the route of gas pipelines in the Brazilian territory. Additionally, there was a debate about the extension of grids, the logic of principal investments, and the organization of corporate capital. The expressive number of States without gas transmission networks has implications over the operational conditions of the gas distribution companies. The orientation of investments to the regions with effective demand tends to concentrate the grids in some States of the Brazilian Federation. About the organization of capital, there is a predominance of governments and state autarchies as owners of ordinary shares. In this context, a progressive growth of private capital as controllers of preferred shares was verified. There is a potential conflict in this scenario. While the States are regents of public policies related to the gas sector, the private capital tends to become the priority receiver of dividends related to these operations.