Brazil is considering reducing the fees companies pay to access natural gas pipelines and processing units, aiming to lower consumer prices, Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said Tuesday.

Silveira made the announcement at an event hours before the government released a new study on the issue.

State-run oil company Petrobras is the primary operator of the pipelines that transport natural gas from offshore production sites, which account for the majority of Brazil's output. Petrobras also operates onshore gas processing units.

Silveira said that the government's proposed changes and estimates of potential price reductions for pipeline and processing unit access are detailed in a study by Brazil's Energy Research Company (EPE).

Petrobras did not immediately respond to a Reuters’s request for comment.