Agreement proposed by Petrobras closes a council investigation into alleged economic abuse by the state-owned company in the oil refining market.

Petrobras signed, this Tuesday, June 11, a Term of Cessation Commitment (TCC) with the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade). The state-owned company must sell eight oil refineries, including fuel transport assets, so that the administrative inquiry of the body that investigates abuse of position is suspended.

The measure aims to stimulate competition in the domestic refining market, until then explored almost entirely by Petrobras, through the entry of new agents that would attract investments to the sector.

The agreement determines the sale of the following units:

• Abreu e Lima Refinery, in Pernambuco;
• Shale Industrialization Unit and Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery, both in Paraná;
• Landulpho Alves refinery, in Bahia;
• Gabriel Passos Refinery, in Minas Gerais;
• Alberto Pasqualini Refinery, in Rio Grande do Sul;
• Isaac Sabbá Refinery, in the Amazon;
• Northeast Lubricants and Petroleum Derivatives Refinery, in Ceará.

Currently, the company holds a 98% share in this segment and competition is in charge of imports and companies with low expressiveness in the Brazilian territory.

The commitment provides that the so-called “divestment” of the refineries must be completed by December 31, 2021, subject to the impeding circumstances provided for in the term.

The operations must be notified to Cade for a detailed competitive analysis of the acquisition, insofar as the submissions under the legal terms are mandatory. With information from Cade's Press Office.

Meet the Petrobras companies cleared for sale by the STF this Friday, June 07