Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras has decided to sell its entire asset portfolio in gas distribution in Brazil and has released a teaser for the sale of downstream assets in Brazil. Petrobras has released the timeline for the divestments of ifs eight refineries: in a first phase, it will sell the Abreu e Lima Refinery (RNEST) in Pernambuco, the Landulpho Alves Refinery (RLAM) in Bahia, the Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery (REPAR) in Parana, and the Alberto Pasqualini Refinery (REFAP) in Rio Grande do Sul, along with the logistics assets integrated to these refineries. The four other refineries, namely Shale Industrialization Unit (SIX), Gabriel Passos Refinery (REGAP), Isaac Sabbá Refinery (REMAN) and Lubrificantes e Derivados de Petróleo do Nordeste (LUBNOR), will be sold in a second phase. They have a combined capacity of 1.1 mbl/d corresponding to nearly half of the country's refining capacity. Petrobras expects to sell at least one refinery by the end of 2019 and to receive binding offers for its LPG distribution units in August 2019.
The group, which is heavily indebted (over US$95.5bn of net debt in the first quarter of 2019), recently completed the sale of its gas transportation subsidiary Transportadora Associada de Gás (TAG) to ENGIE and the Canadian fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ). Petrobras is also selling upstream assets. Petrobras has announced the sale of its total equity interest in 8 exploration and production concessions, located in Bahia state, jointly designated as Rio Ventura Cluster, and plans to launch a new round of offers for the sale of Enchova and Pampo clusters, a set of producing fields located in the Campos Basin.