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The Transactions of Petrobras in Refinery Asset Sales Were Responsible for Reducing 17 Billion Dollars of the State-Owned Company’s Debts
In 2021, Petrobras achieved a record profit of R$ 106 billion, which became the highlight of the company’s annual financial study released last week. However, the company has another action gaining visibility: the sale of R$ 30 billion in assets.
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As the largest Brazilian company, the oil refinery reduced its leverage, that is, the measure by which the time required to settle the debts of an institution is calculated, to 1.1x, due to the sale of many of its assets.
According to Victor Sena’s article for the Exame website, 22 assets were sold last year, including BR Distribuidora, Landulpho Alves Refinery, and several other oil fields that did not present advantages to the state-owned company. Currently, BR Distribuidora is called Vibra, and the Landulpho Alves Refinery (RELAM) was acquired by an Arab fund.
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Furthermore, another 6 refineries are set to be sold, which corresponds to Petrobras’ most ambitious disinvestment project. According to an agreement with the Administrative Council for Economic Defense, it needs to relinquish the monopoly of oil refining in the country. The Isaac Sabbá Refinery (REMAN) has already confirmed the sale, but the transaction will only be accounted for in the 2022 balance sheet.
The total raised from the effective sale of the 22 assets was R$ 30 billion. The amount revealed by Petrobras was in dollars (US$ 5.51 billion).
It is also important to highlight that the sale of assets does not have a direct link to profits but rather to the reduction of debts. Petrobras’ record profit was achieved through increased sales revenue, as the price of crude oil skyrocketed, along with the sale of derivatives.
Since the strategic plan of 2015, after the Lava Jato operation, Petrobras has invested heavily in exploring and producing more profitable oil in the pre-salt layer. Thus, other negotiations have stalled since Pedro Parente’s administration, who was in charge of the company at that time.
Petrobras’ intention behind this strategy is to remain competitive in a context where oil prices may fall, considering the strength of renewable energies.
Inefficient oil stations, such as those in shallow waters or on land, have been sold by Petrobras since 2020, along with businesses related to distribution, refining, energy, and natural gas.
What is truly in focus is the pre-salt, where the extraction cost of the barrel was only US$ 2.70 last year. According to data published by the state-owned company, this value on land rises to US$ 14. Currently, the pre-salt accounts for 70% of the company’s production.
Ilan Albertman, an oil analyst at Ativa Investimentos, explains: “When you sell shallow and land fields, for example, you have less margin, have lower costs, and then you have indirect gains on the balance sheet, with indirect reflections. These sales of fields were important to reduce the indebtedness. Petrobras needed to achieve US$ 60 billion in indebtedness by the end of 2022 and managed to reach that 18 months early.”
Last year, Petrobras’ EBITDA amounted to R$ 234.1 billion. According to Ilan, this figure does not only show revenue and net profit but rather indicates how financially healthy the company is, due to its investment in the pre-salt.
Check the List of Enterprises That Petrobras Effectively Sold in 2021:
Distribution, Refining, Energy, and Natural Gas Assets
- PUDSA Distributor, in Uruguay
- BR Distribuidora
- Breitener Thermal Plants
- Bsbios (Biodiesel Company)
- CEM and TEP Thermal and Hydroelectric Plants
- GasLocal (Natural Gas Company)
- Mangue Seco Wind Farms 1, 2, 3, and 4
- NTS (Natural Gas Transporter)
- Landulpho Alves Refinery
- 3 Thermal Power Plants in Polo Camaçari
Exploration and Production Assets
- Frade Field
- P.Cricaré Land Fields
- P. Miranga Land Fields
- P.Remanso-BA Land Fields
- Lapa
- Dó-Ré-Mi and Rabo Branco
- P. Rio Ventura
In addition to these, Petrobras managed to sell, at the beginning of 2022, land fields in the Alagoas Polo. Other assets have also had negotiations finalized but have not yet begun transactions, such as the land fields in Potiguar and Ventura in the Northeast, and Gaspetro, a natural gas company.
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