Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has started the nonbinding phase for the sale of two of its refineries and a shale processing complex as part of the operator’s previously announced plan to divest its Brazilian refining assets (OGJ Online, May 2, 2019).
Potential buyers qualified by signing the confidentiality agreement and compliance statement for this phase—which will include the Isaac Sabbá refinery (REMAN) in Amazonas, Lubrificantes e Derivados de Petróleo do Nordeste (LUBNOR) in Ceará, and Shale Industrialization Unit (SIX) in Paraná, as well as their corresponding logistics assets—will receive a descriptive memorandum beginning on Oct. 24 with more detailed information about the assets, as well as instructions on the divestment process, including guidelines for preparing and submitting nonbinding proposals, Petrobras said.
Potential buyers will need to sign and submit these documents to Petrobras until Dec. 6 and must state their interest as provided for in teasers on assets accompanying the documents up until Nov. 22.
Located in Manaus, Amazonas, REMAN has a processing capacity of 46,000 b/d and includes a storage terminal, while LUBNOR—located in Fortaleza, Ceará—has a processing capacity of 8,000 b/d and is one of the national leaders in asphalt production, as well as the only one in Brazil to produce naphthenic lubricants.
Located in São Mateus do Sul, Paraná, SIX has an installed capacity of 6,000 b/d, with assets that include a mine in one of the largest oil shale reserves in the world and a shale processing plant.
This latest announcement follows Petrobras’s earlier commitment to sell all eight of its Brazilian refineries with total refining capacity of 1.1 million b/d first announced on Apr. 26 based on a schedule agreed upon by the parties, according to the terms of the company’s divestment methodology, pursuant to regulatory provisions, subject to the economic-financial assessments relating to each asset, as well as the technical, legal, financial, and compliance requirements by potential buyers (OGJ Online, June 12, 2019).
The earlier agreement also provides that the following refineries considered as potential competitors may not be acquired by the same buyer or companies within the same economic group:
- Refinaria Landulpho Alves (RLAM) and Refinaria Abreu e Lima (RNEST).
- Refinaria Presidente Getulio Vargas (REPAR) and Refinaria Alberto Pasqualini (REFAP).
- Refinaria Gabriel Passos (REGAP) and RLAM.
Additionally, Petrobras agreed that the schedule and fulfillment of the commitments assumed with Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) will be followed up by an external agent hired by Petrobras according to specifications to be established by mutual agreement.
Petrobras said it believes execution of the agreement consolidates the cooperation efforts between CADE and the company, providing greater legal certainty to the announced divestment program.
The proposed refinery divestments follow Petrobras’s completed sale of its Pasadena Refining System Inc.—including the 110,000-b/d refinery in Pasadena, Tex.—and PRSI Trading LLC businesses to Chevron USA Inc. in May (OGJ Online, Jan. 31, 2019).
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
