Petrobras needs to regain control of BR Distribuidora, which was handed over by Temer and Bolsonaro.

Petrobras has informed the Vibra group that it will not renew the agreement for the use of its brand at 8.383 gas stations across the country under the current terms. The current contract expires in June 2029. Petrobras communicated this decision in a material fact notice to the financial market. For its part, Vibra stated that the change in the terms of brand use "does not generate any change in the company's strategy in relation to its resellers and customers in general" and said that the possibility of not renewing the agreement after 2029 was already on its radar. 

Vibra was the name given by neoliberalism to the former BR Distribuidora, a company that belonged to Petrobras since the military dictatorship, to finalize the integration of its activities 'from well to gas station', that is, the company held control of the entire chain, from oil extraction, through refining and distribution. 

Petrobras held all the shares of BR Distribuidora until 2017. After the 2016 coup, in which the National Congress, with the support of the Supreme Federal Court, removed President Dilma Rousseff from power without proof of any crime of responsibility, the government of her successor, Michel Temer, forced Petrobras to sell 30% of its shares in BR Distribuidora. 

Two years later, under the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro, Petrobras underwent a major restructuring of its fuel distribution arm. In July 2019, the company reduced its stake to 41% and lost controlling interest in BR Distribuidora. Two years later, in 2021, Petrobras completed the sale of its remaining shares, making BR Distribuidora a 100% private company. 

Vibra is a direct product of this privatization frenzy that took hold in Brazil after the 2016 coup. They tried to dismember Petrobras, weaken it, reduce it to a mere company that extracts crude oil. 

In 2019, the sale of TAG - Transportadora Associada de Gás, a network of gas pipelines in the North and Northeast of Brazil, was completed for over R$ 42 billion. After the sale, Petrobras began paying approximately R$ 3 billion to use the pipelines. Incredible! NTS - Nova Transportadora do Sudeste, a subsidiary that controlled the country's most strategic gas pipeline network, was also handed over to the private sector. 

Looking back at privatizations, one of the most scandalous processes was the sale of Petrobras' first refinery, the Landulpho Alves Refinery (Rlam), in Bahia, for US$1,65 billion, or approximately R$10 billion. A recently released audit by the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) indicated that the sale to the Arab fund Mubadala was made for a value below market price. According to a study by the Institute for Strategic Studies of Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels (Ineep), the refinery could be worth between US$3 billion and US$4 billion. In addition to the ridiculously low price paid in the transaction, the handover of the refinery to the Arabs coincides with the delivery of jewelry to Jair Bolsonaro during an official trip to the United Arab Emirates. The Federal Police are investigating the case. 

Given the plundering the company has suffered since the 2016 coup, it is crucial for our energy sovereignty that Petrobras moves forward to regain control of most of its privatized assets. Renegotiating the terms of its brand use at gas stations should be seen as an initial step. Petrobras needs to regain full control of fuel distribution in the country, which will certainly contribute to the promised "Brazilianization" of gasoline and diesel.