Even With Congress Opposed, Government Defends Sale of Refineries by Petrobras

Government Defends Sale of Petrobras Refineries After Congress Asks STF to Block Privatizations

Last week, Legislative technicians filed a preliminary injunction with the STF that, if accepted, could block the privatizations of the Landulpho Alves Refinery (Rlam) and the Paraná Refinery (Repar), planned for 2020.

Also See Other News:

• Braskem Petrochemical Has an Opportunity for an Intern
• Plant in the State of São Paulo Hires Electronic Technician (Instrumentation), Material Mover, and Driver on This Day 08
• Total Express, a Leader in Logistics Solutions, Has Multiple Job Opportunities in Different States

The document accuses the government of artificially creating subsidiaries of state-owned companies to bypass the Court’s authorization for the sale of public company arms without Congress’s approval. The analysis of parliamentarians continued to be required for the sale of the main business, the so-called parent company.

Recomendado para você

Oil and Gas

Major Oil, Gas, and Energy Event Will Take Place in Brazil: Macaé Energy Will Gather Petrobras, Equinor, Prio, Among Other Suppliers and Energy Executives for Business, Networking, and Employment Opportunities

The Technical Agenda and the Fair in the City of Macaé Should Boost Discussions on Investments, Energy Transition, and Development of the Oil, Gas, and Energy Chain in the National...

Paulo Nogueira

1

The request will be analyzed by Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, who was the rapporteur of the action that opened the exception for the sale of subsidiaries without Parliament’s approval. In a joint statement, the two ministries affirm that the process of selling refineries aligns with Petrobras’ strategic positioning defined in 2016.

Previously, Petrobras released its business plan for the period between 2017 and 2021 and decided to focus on oil exploration and production areas. In the assessment of the two ministries, last year’s STF decision endorses the operations.

“Thus, the Ministries of Economy (ME) and Mines and Energy (MME) reinforce the need to comply with the STF’s prior decision and support the process of transitioning the refining segment to a framework of greater plurality of agents, more open and dynamic”, says part of the statement, which does not mention Congress’s position.

According to O Globo, the ministries further state that the operations are in line with what was approved by an agreement with the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), which, in practice, paved the way for the opening up of the refining sector last year.

The expectation is that eight Petrobras refineries will be sold by next year, according to the agreement with Cade. Together, the units have a daily processing capacity of 1.1 million barrels of oil, about 50% of the country’s refining capacity.