Petrobras will sell half the refineries from June

Petrobras decided to sell starting in June of this year half the oil refineries. The refineries are in the South, Southeast and Northeast. Together, the 13 refineries of Petrobras had ability to refine 2.2 million barrels per day in 2018. Namely, the company's goal is to sell the refining capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day. The goal is to forward the privatization model to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) this month. The analysis by Cade is an important step because the idea is to create competition in the market, avoiding the concentration of refineries in a private group. The goal also is to avoid regional monopoly. Thus, the company that bought the refinery from Rio Grande do Sul, for example, will not be able to buy. In June, Petrobras: formally announcing the sale of the refineries; qualify the interested; will begin to analyze the proposals. The process of selling the refineries is already settled with the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU). Collection Petrobras hopes to raise between $10 and $ $15 billion with the sale of the refineries. The goal is to use the funds to reduce the debt. The Petrobras ' monopoly in the area of refining is not provided for in law. It is, however, a de facto monopoly. Private groups seeking to invest in oil refining in Brazil because the market has suffered in recent decades intervention, especially Governments of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and of Dilma Rousseff. By law, prices are free since 2002. But, as the Government has the power of appointment and dismissal, the direction of Petrobras is submissive to the will of the Government. For Petrobras, the monopoly is a trap. When the Government intervenes on price, the company loses by selling below cost. When the price is above the international parity, as has happened in 2015, the large consumers import fuel, and Petrobras loses market.