Fuel Price Hike: Petrobras Accused of False Advertising Regarding Gasoline Prices

Attorneys General Seek to Block Petrobras Advertising Action on Fuel Prices in Court

The Attorney General’s Office (PGE) of 11 states and the Federal District has filed a public civil action aiming to remove a supposedly misleading advertisement from Petrobras’ website about gasoline. The intention of the attorneys is to urgently have a piece of advertising that informs the composition of fuel prices from the state-owned company taken down.

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The advertisement states that Petrobras is not responsible for the increase in fuel prices despite a 51% rise. The advertisement is a text signed by Joaquim Silva e Luna, president of the state company.

The text states that Petrobras receives only R$ 2 of every R$ 6 paid by Brazilians for a liter of gasoline. The piece attempts to blame the price of fuel on the collection of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services, the ICMS, which is collected by the states.

The public civil action was signed by the attorneys from the following states: Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Pará, Maranhão, Sergipe, Piauí, Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Amapá, and Minas Gerais, in addition to the Federal District.

Petrobras Announces New Contracts for the Sale of Gasoline and Diesel 

Petrobras is taking action to reduce the impact of fuel on the end consumer by improving commercial and operational clauses. Last Friday, Petrobras announced new contract models that aim to simplify the sale of gasoline and highway diesel and marine diesel.

The idea of Petrobras is that the new contract model brings more flexibility to the state company, in addition to increasing competitiveness in the domestic market. Petrobras emphasizes that the changes are necessary to deal with the gasoline and diesel market in the country, which is undergoing the entry of imported products by third parties, in addition to the divestment process in refineries.