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Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company, must present a new schedule for the sale of TBG to Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense).
A natural gas carrier, which operates the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline, is one of the assets in the process of being divestment of Petrobras, which was forced to sell them in an agreement signed in 2019 with Cade. The sale of the state's 51% stake in the carrier should have been completed by December 2021. However, the Petrobras was unsuccessful in selling TBG within the original deadline. Now, the company must present a new plan to sell TBG to Cade, still subject to approval by the council.
This process is part of the agreement signed between the Petrobras and Cade, which forced the state-owned company to sell eight oil refineries and stakes in four natural gas companies. The sale of TBG, together with the state-owned company's 25% stake in TSB (South-Brazilian Gas Carrier), is the only part that has not yet been completed.
Suspension of divestment processes
O Ministry of Mines and Energy has claimed the suspension of Petrobras' divestment processes, including the sale of TBG. However, the decision depends on the review of the strategic plan for 2023, to be submitted by the new executive board.
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The strategic plan guides the state-owned company's investments for the next five years and is revised annually. The most recent was published in November 2022, during the management of Caio Paes de Andrade, the last one nominated by the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
Agreement with Cade
In 2019, at the beginning of the Bolsonaro government, the Petrobras signed two agreements with Cade, one of them referring to natural gas. This agreement was the result of an administrative inquiry at Cade, which investigated whether the state-owned company made price discrimination in the sale of the input to distributors. Petrobras was an indirect shareholder of GásBrasiliano Distribuidora through Gaspetro.
The TCC (Term of Cessation of Conduct) determined that Petrobras should sell 10% in NTS (Nova Transportadora do Sudeste), 10% in TAG (Transportadora Associada de Gás), 51% in TBG (Brazilian Carrier Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline) and 51% in Gaspetro.
Petrobras managed to dispose of all stakes, with the exception of TBG. Now, the company seeks to present a new sales plan to complete the divestment.
The process of divestment of Petrobras, including the sale of TBG, has been the subject of discussions both within the government and among investors. While the state-owned company seeks to comply with the agreement signed with Cade, the Ministry of Mines and Energy tries to suspend the divestment processes for a review of the strategic plan.
