Petrobras will defend market position in Cade, says president

The president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, said this Monday (17th), in São Paulo, that he intends to review the company’s position in relation to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade). According to him, the oil company will defend itself against accusations of abusive conduct in the oil and gas markets.

“We are going to act (in a way) differently in relation to Cade than the previous government did. We respect Cade’s allegations, but we have to defend ourselves, both in the case of fuel, which forced the sale of refineries, in our view, unduly, without the defense the case deserved, as in the gas issue. We are going to argue, work within normal official channels, work with Cade to remedy this situation”, he said at a press conference at an event at the headquarters of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp).

In 2019, Petrobras signed a Cessation Commitment with Cade in which the sale of eight of the 13 refineries that the company had was established, which corresponded to half of the oil company’s refining capacity. The agreement was a proposal to end an investigation by the regulatory body into possible abuse of a dominant position by Petrobras in the refining segment.

Petrobras also signed a similar agreement in the natural gas business, with a commitment to dispose of assets, including Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolivia-Brasil. However, the company still maintains control of the gas pipeline, and this is one of the points that Prates said he intends to review with Cade.

Natural gas

Petrobras announced, this Monday (17), an average reduction of 8.1% in the price of natural gas compared to the quarter ended in April. The new amounts will be charged from May 1st.

According to Prates, the decrease in prices is part of the company’s strategy to increase market share. “Petrobras’ gas price will be the best price it can offer to capture customers, just like fuel. We are not going to leave a chunk of market share to the competitor who is charging higher prices. We have to have the most competitive price as a major producer,” he said.

With the readjustment announced this Monday, the gas sold by Petrobras to distributors accumulates, according to the company itself, a reduction of 19% in the year.