Abstract

PIQUET, Rosélia  and  MIRANDA, Elis. La industria del gas en Brasil: implicaciones regionales, incertidumbres y perspectivas. Rev. Univ. geogr. [online]. 2009, vol.18, n.1, pp. 163-177. ISSN 1852-4265.

The objective of this text is to discuss the potential for economic and spatial changes that are the result of the expansion of the natural gas industry in Brazil caused by a crisis in the supply of Bolivian natural gas. The hypothesis that guided our research is based on the premises that both the crisis in Bolivia and the recent discoveries made by Petrobras in Santos Basin and in its pre-salt layers will bring about a new spatial configuration in the Brazilian gas sector. Although the behavior of the Bolivian government immediately caused negative effects on the Brazilian economy, in the mid and long run this change, rather than being harmful, will offer new growth opportunities for Brazilian economy. The analysis covers the period from 1995 - the year of subscription of the agreement with Bolivia- to the present. With the establishment of onshore gas treatment facilities that serve areas not covered by natural gas pipelines, important regions of Brazil that previously had no access to natural gas - like the hinterland of the State of São Paulo, the North of Paraná, the South of Minas Gerais, Goias, and the Federal District - will be served. This work will present and discuss these spatial changes in the natural gas sector in Brazil.

Keywords : Natural gas industry; Spatial changes; Bolivia-Brazil natural gas pipelines.