1. Home
  2. / Oil and Gas
  3. / Bolsonaro government intensifies privatization of Petrobras and impacts fuel prices in Brazil with the sale of 63 assets
reading time 3 min read

Bolsonaro government intensifies privatization of Petrobras and impacts fuel prices in Brazil with the sale of 63 assets

Written by Ruth Rodrigues
Published 05/10/2022 às 11:30
The Bolsonaro Government has been carrying out a true dismantling of Petrobras' assets in Brazil over the last few years. The acceleration of the company's privatization has been causing serious problems of dependence on imports and an increase in fuel prices.
Source: Brazil Network

The Bolsonaro Government has been carrying out a true dismantling of Petrobras' assets in Brazil over the last few years. The acceleration of the company's privatization has been causing serious problems of dependence on imports and an increase in fuel prices.

Even with the resumption of stability in fuel prices gradually happening in Brazil, the Bolsonaro Government continues to threaten the sector. Last Monday (03/10), Petrobras turned 69 in the midst of a dismantling process, according to a survey by the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese). And, over the last few years of the current president's government, privatization has been intensifying more and more, harming the final consumer in the country.

Petrobras privatization project has been intensifying throughout the Bolsonaro government and the fuel market suffers the consequences

It is not new that Petrobras has been going through a privatization process and the sale of its assets to the private market, but the last few years have been crucial for this process to be accelerated. 

The dismantling of the state-owned company has been taking place in Brazil for 69 years and the arrival of the Bolsonaro Government in 2019 brought to light the incessant search for the sale of the company's assets. 

Dieese data show that, from 2013 to August 2022 (nine years), Petrobras sold 94 assets (80 in Brazil and 14 abroad), totaling 59,8 billion dollars.

In recent years, since the current presidential administration began its term, between January 2019 and August of this year, 63 assets were sold in the privatization process, 67% of the total so far, worth US$33,9 billion – around R$175 billion.

Thus, although attracting investors to Petrobras and acquiring profits have been efficient, fuel prices in Brazil only increase and the final consumer is affected amidst the sector's instability. 

Only during the administration of President Bolsonaro, assets such as BR Distribuidora, port terminals, oil fields, thermoelectric plants and refineries were granted to the private sector. 

Privatization of RLAM demonstrates project to dismantle the state-owned company and impacts on fuel prices in Brazil 

Among the main assets granted to the private market during the Bolsonaro Government, the Landulpho Alves Refinery (RLAM), in Bahia, was one of the main ones, bringing strong impacts to the national market. 

The refinery was granted to the Mubadala Capital fund in December last year in exchange for US$1,65 billion, around R$8,25 billion at the time of the transaction.

However, surveys by the Institute for Strategic Studies on Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (Ineep) show that this refinery was worth at least twice that final value. 

Thus, the Petrobras asset privatization process was widely criticized in the fuel sector for its impact on product prices. 

In addition, the Single Federation of Petroleum Workers (FUP) filed a lawsuit against the sale of the asset at the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), but the case ended up being dismissed and the federation did not obtain results. 

After purchasing RLAM, Mubadala founded Acelen and the company was responsible for the refinery, fuel distribution and the price list for transfers to distributors in Brazil. 

As a result, several readjustments in the prices of the products were carried out and, during the month of March of this year, Bahia was the state with the most expensive fuel in the country, as a result of the dismantling and privatization of Petrobras in the Bolsonaro Government.

“We see Petrobras reach 69 disassembled, investing less, leaving renewable sources aside and maintaining the import parity price policy (PPI), which harms Brazilians with high prices and inflation, but guarantees great gains to its customers. shareholders”, criticized the general coordinator of the FUP, Deyvid Bacelar.

Be the first to react!
React to article
Ruth Rodrigues

Graduated in Biological Sciences from the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), she works as a writer and scientific disseminator.

Share across apps