The Minister of Mines and Energy, Adolfo Sachsida, said today (12) that Brazil has stocks of diesel for 50 days without the need for imports. According to the minister, until yesterday, the country had 1.6 million cubic meters of A S-10 diesel stocks (without the addition of biodiesel).
“If something happens in the world and you can’t import more oil, Brazil has 50 days of diesel without having to import oil,” said the minister during a public hearing at the Senate’s Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE) to discuss fuel prices. .
According to Sachsida, the ministry continues to monitor the supply scenario in the international diesel market, together with the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) and the Energy Research Company (EPE), linked to the ministry.
To the senators, the minister said that the invasion of Ukraine led to an increase in the price of fuel and a detachment between the price of Brent oil and the price of diesel. He also highlighted the government’s initiatives to force a drop in fuel prices, with emphasis on the reduction to zero in federal tax rates on these products, such as PIS-Cofins.
Sachsida also thanked Congress for passing the bill that turned the Complementary Law 194/2022which limited the collection of the Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) on fuels to the minimum rate for each state, which varies between 17% and 18%.
The minister also said that the government has no way of interfering in Petrobras’ pricing policy, on the grounds that the Petroleum and State laws prohibit any type of intervention.
“Many people demand stronger interference from the government in Petrobras’ pricing mechanism, but that is not possible. The legal system today is very clear. Both the Petroleum Law and the State-Owned Companies Law make it clear that the government cannot interfere in this price mechanism,” he said.
