Petrobras’ downstream dilemma

President Bolsonaro considers privatising the NOC as fuel prices climb and divestments drag

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras heads into the final stretch of the year almost certain to miss its divestment targets. The operator has successfully signed sales agreements for only two of the eight refineries it has promised to offload by year-end and still has a swathe of onshore and offshore production assets to shed. “Only the Reman and RLAM refineries have sales agreements signed,” says Andre Fagundes, vice-president for Latin American research at consultancy Welligence Energy Analytics. “That leaves another six still to be sold, as per the agreement with anti-trust agency Cade. It is possible that Petrobras will reach a sales agreement for three additional refineries—Lubnor, SIX