Cade approves sale of Petrobras’ Lubnor refinery

Despite the approval, Petrobras informs that there are other conditions to be met within the scope of the process. The council determined that a Concentration Control Agreement be signed, because the group that owns Grepar also operates in the distribution of asphalt, a derivative produced by the refinery.

The sale is part of the privatization of Petrobras refineries, which began in 2019, as part of the divestment plan promoted during the Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro governments. At the time, the company’s management explained that the sale of refineries was aimed at concentrating on more profitable assets and providing more competitiveness and transparency to the refining segment in Brazil.

In order to proceed with the process, Petrobras had to sign, in 2019, a Cessation Commitment Term (TCC) with Cade, which provided for the sale of eight of the company’s 13 refining units, which accounted for about 50% of capacity refining of the state.

The eight units included in the process were the Shale Industrialization Unit, and the Abreu e Lima, Landulpho Alves, Gabriel Passos, Presidente Getúlio Vargas, Alberto Pasqualini and Isaac Sabbá refineries, in addition to Lubnor.

Of these, the Schist Industrialization Unit (SIX), Landulpho Alves (Rlam) and Isaac Sabbá (Reman) were privatized.

The Presidente Getúlio Vargas (Repar) and Alberto Pasqualini (Refap) refineries received proposals, but the sale process did not advance. The Gabriel Passos Refinery (Regap) had its process closed without any sale, and remains in Petrobras’ possession.