MME highlights Minas Gerais as a new frontier for natural hydrogen.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) has placed Minas Gerais at the center of the energy debate by presenting the state's potential for natural gas and natural hydrogen exploration. In a workshop aimed at municipal managers, the ministry detailed the Permanent Offer of Concessions (OPC) for oil and natural gas, a model that increases regulatory predictability and reinforces the attractiveness for investments by allowing the continuous offering of exploratory areas with productive potential.

Permanent Offer expands opportunities and projects regional economic impacts

In the presentation, the MME highlighted the São Francisco Basin, especially its Minas Gerais portion, where studies indicate the presence of natural gas in low-permeability reservoirs, in addition to the prospects associated with natural hydrogen. Currently, dozens of blocks located in Minas Gerais are included in the Permanent Offer notices, encompassing more than one hundred municipalities and opening new fronts for regional development. The ministry also explained the necessary steps for including areas in the OPC, which involve technical analyses, institutional statements, public consultations, and bidding processes, focusing on legal certainty, transparency, and respect for environmental regulations. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), in addition to increasing energy security and diversifying Brazil's energy matrix, the initiative can boost job creation, royalty collection, and local industrialization, strengthening the state's municipal economies.