Government will propose new pricing policy for Petrobras

“We are going to treat this with all rigor, care and social sensitivity”, said Silveira to journalists, at the Planalto Palace, after meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

According to the minister, the idea is that a new pricing policy will begin to be discussed as soon as all the members of the boards that run the company take office, which is scheduled for the end of this month.

“What I said is that, at the general meeting, which will be held on the 27th, with the new board defined, both the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board, the federal government, as the majority shareholder, and as controlling shareholder of Petrobras, will, yes, discussing what will be the best price policy, for Petrobras to fulfill its social function, which is in the Constitution, is in the State-Owned Companies Law”, he said.

Earlier, in a statement, Petrobras reaffirmed its commitment to the “practice of competitive prices and in balance with the national market”, avoiding the immediate pass-through of external volatilities, caused by conjunctural agents, as well as exchange rate oscillations. The note was an indirect response to the minister’s statements in interviews.

OPEC

Alexandre Silveira defended a greater role for Petrobras to avoid the high volatility of international fuel prices, and cited the recent decision of the world’s largest oil producers, gathered around the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC).

“We cannot (accept), for example, that the OPEC cartel can influence and crush the purchasing power of Brazilians. And, therefore, President Lula’s government will have a very clear line, we are majority shareholders, we will respect the governance of the company, its legal nature, but we will be vigorous in defending the interests of the Brazilian people,” he said.

At the beginning of the week, OPEC announced a cut in production of around 1 million barrels of oil per day, after the price of the product fell to the US$ 70 range. raise the price of a barrel.

Derivatives

The minister also defended investments in the oil refining park in the country to increase self-sufficiency in derivatives, especially gasoline and diesel oil. According to Silveira, Brazil currently imports 13% of gasoline and 25% of diesel consumed in the domestic market.

“That is, we will have to become self-sustainable in gasoline and, in the medium term, in the diesel issue,” he said, in a reference to the need to seek independence from international price fluctuations.

Silveira added that, for the federal government, Petrobras’ production costs, which are delimited in reais, cannot be calculated in dollars, as is the company’s current pricing policy. “Petrobras produces in reais and cannot have its cost calculated in dollars. This does not make sense in our government”, he said.