Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has frequently expressed irritation with Petrobras’ fuel prices
Petrobras’ downstream dilemma
President Bolsonaro considers privatising the NOC as fuel prices climb and divestments drag
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras heads into the final stretch of the year almost certain to miss its divestment targets. The operator has successfully signed sales agreements for only two of the eight refineries it has promised to offload by year-end and still has a swathe of onshore and offshore production assets to shed. “Only the Reman and RLAM refineries have sales agreements signed,” says Andre Fagundes, vice-president for Latin American research at consultancy Welligence Energy Analytics. “That leaves another six still to be sold, as per the agreement with anti-trust agency Cade. It is possible that Petrobras will reach a sales agreement for three additional refineries—Lubnor, SIX
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18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
