Petrobras refinery sale in limbo
Downstream divestment programme at risk as federal office scrutinises auction
Brazilian regulatory authorities have baulked at the $1.65bn selling price of the Landulpho Alves refinery (RLAM), agreed between state oil company Petrobras and Emirati investment fund Mubadala, and are threatening to suspend the transaction pending further investigation. Petrobras had valued the facility, in Bahia state, at more than $3bn. It is one of eight refineries being touted as part of the NOC’s divestment drive. Earlier in the year, Petrobras terminated the sale of its Presidente Getulio Vargas refinery when binding proposals came in lower than its financial estimate. But offloading non-core assets is a priority for the Brazilian company to cut debt and refocus on its more profitab
Also in this section
27 March 2024
Oil producers have to untangle the increasingly complicated relationship with their natural resources
26 March 2024
Strategic stocks have become as much a market management tool as a security of supply buffer, and this new tactic is likely to continue beyond the next election
25 March 2024
Low carbon intensity and sizeable projects such as Johan Castberg coming onstream in late 2024 suggest a robust outlook at least until 2030
22 March 2024
And the outlook for the country’s upstream appears to have improved following legal setbacks in 2023