Petrobras puts the Abreu e Lima refinery up for sale

Budgeted at $2,3 billion, it ended up costing nearly nine times as much. “The refineries are worth for Petrobras what is not worth for anyone else”, says former Minister of Mines and Energy

On the morning of June 28, Petrobras began the formal sale of four of the eight refineries it intends to divest. The process will be divided into two phases and is expected to end in 2021. The divestment will reduce the state's refining park by half, with less 1,1 million barrels per day of capacity. The package also includes logistical assets, which will be transferred to the new owners. The deadline to show interest in the assets is August 16th.

First stage of sale

Abreu e Lima Refinery (RNEST, Pernambuco), located in Porto de Suape, in Pernambuco, operations began in 2014, in what is the first and most famous refinery built by the state-owned company after 34 years. Surrounded by much controversy and included in the investigations of Operation Lava Jato, the project was initially planned to be a partnership with the Venezuelan PDVSA, which did not come to fruition. Rnest will be sold together with a 101-kilometer gas pipeline connected to the Suape Terminal.

Landulpho Alves Refinery (RLAM, Bahia), the first Brazilian refinery, Rlam was created in 1950 in the Recôncavo Baiano. Serves states in the Northeast region, exports to the United States, Argentina and some countries in Europe. In addition to the refinery, the package includes 669 kilometers of gas pipelines and four terminals in Bahia (Candeias, Itabuna, Jequié and Madre de Deus).

Alberto Pasqualini Refinery (REFAP), in addition to the refinery, 260 kilometers of oil pipelines and two terminals will be sold in Rio Grande do Sul: Niterói and Tramandaí. In 2000, Petrobras sold a 30% stake in Refap to the Spanish company Repsol, a company dissolved in 2010.

Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery (REPAR, Paraná), together with the refinery, 476 kilometers of long oil pipelines will be sold: OPASC, connecting Repar to the Guaramirim, Itajaí and Biguaçu Terminals; OLAPA, connecting the unit to the Paranaguá Terminal;  OSPAR, connecting the refinery to the São Francisco do Sul Terminal.

Five terminals will also be sold:  Paranaguá (Paraná), São Francisco do Sul (Santa Catarina), Guaramirim (Santa Catarina), Itajaí (Santa Catarina), and Biguaçu (Santa Catarina). The unit also has an interconnection, since 2012, with the fertilizer factory in Araucária (PR), to which it supplies asphalt waste, fuel oils and utilities.

"The South has one of the most mature oil products markets in the country, with a forecast of stable growth in demand in the coming years", says Petrobras, in the sales advertisement.

Second phase of the sale

The company still wants, in a second phase without a set date, to get rid of four other refineries

• Isaac Sabbá Refinery (REMAN, AM)
• Lubricants and Petroleum Derivatives from the Northeast (Lubnor)
• Gabriel Passos Refinery (REGAP, MG)
• Shale Industrialization Unit (SIX, in Paraná)

With the state-owned company, however, the so-called “jewels in the crown” will remain: the refineries located in the Southeast region. In addition to the largest in the country, in Paulínia (SP), which has the capacity to refine 434 barrels per day, other units installed in the state were excluded from the sale: Capuava Refinery (Recap), in Mauá; President Bernardes, in Cubatão; and Henrique Lage (Revap), in São José dos Campos. The Duque de Caxias Refinery (Reduc), in Rio de Janeiro, will also remain with the company.

Great opportunities on this day, 01/07 in São João da Barra