Petrobras has no plans to adjust fuel prices.

From Agência Brasil – Petrobras has no plans to adjust fuel prices at the moment. However, the Refining and Natural Gas Director, Jorge Celestino, said this Thursday (11) that the company has maintained the practice of assessing the guarantee that it practices competitive prices, market share and, as it becomes necessary to adjust prices, the decision will be made.

“For now, the scenario is not very clear. There is a lot of price volatility. If you look at the market fundamentals, what was expected from the winter in the United States did not happen, diesel stocks remained quite high in the middle of winter, the holiday season in the northern hemisphere also did not push gasoline prices up, oil fell almost US$ 5 per barrel in the month and today (11) it rose five. We constantly monitor market fundamentals and look market share [Market share] versus market prices. When the time comes to make a decision, we will make it,” said Celestino.

Petrobras' Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Director, Ivan Monteiro, explained that the net profit of R$ 370 million, recorded by the company in the second quarter of 2016, fell short of market expectations because the forecasts did not take into account the impairment (asset devaluation adjustment) of the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperj), the provision for the Voluntary Dismissal Program (PDV), and the return of fields to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

The number is positive compared to the first three months of 2016, when the state-owned company recorded a loss of R$ 1,2 billion. "These three facts more than justify the difference compared to the average indicated by analysts," explained the Petrobras director. The company remains in search of partners for the projects of the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperj) and, according to the director of Refining and Natural Gas, Jorge Celestino, Petrobras has spent approximately US$ 13,5 billion on the project so far.

“These three facts more than justify the difference compared to the average indicated by analysts,” explained the Petrobras director. The company remains in search of partners for the projects of the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperj) and, according to the director of Refining and Natural Gas, Jorge Celestino, to date, Petrobras has spent approximately US$ 13,5 billion on the project.

Sale of assets

The second-quarter balance sheet did not reflect the sale of the Argentine subsidiary, which was included in the company's divestment program. Monteiro stated that this occurred because the payment was received after the closing. The sale of the Chilean subsidiary was also not included because the cash from the transaction has not yet been received. In the case of Argentina, this process took four to five months.

“We are seeking to make the process highly competitive. This is the most important issue. It is from competitiveness that value will effectively be generated for Petrobras. There is a focus on meeting the target in the second half of the year. That is indeed the case, but we are quite hopeful that we will be able to achieve our objectives.”

According to the director, the most expensive asset sold by Petrobras so far was a field in Peru in 2014, for around US$3 billion. Monteiro emphasized that the divestment program target for the 2015/2016 biennium remains at US$15,1 billion. "We are pursuing this target with great tenacity," he said.

“The divestment program will greatly assist in reducing the company's debt and in supporting its own investment program. Despite the reduction that has been implemented, it is still an extremely significant number, in the range of US$17 billion to US$19 billion. The company has sought to maintain these figures, which are disclosed as targets that it pursues each quarter.”

Petrobras' Director of Strategy, Organization and Management System, Nélson Luiz Costa Silva, revealed that the company's Business Plan will be released in mid-September. He has been in the position for only a few days, which was created after approval by an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on the 4th of this month. The election in the Board of Directors was yesterday (10) and Nélson Luiz said that the plan will bring some new features: "It is a plan that comes with a modern look, that integrates the whole company, that integrates strategic planning with management plan, with a very modern management control system," he said.

The Director of Corporate Affairs, Hugo Repsold Junior, said that enrollment in the Voluntary Severance Program (PDV) runs until August 31st and that by the beginning of the month they had received 5 applications, but the forecast is to close with a higher number: “As this process ends at the end of August, we should see an acceleration towards the end, and we are maintaining the projection of between six and seven thousand employees. It is still imprecise. We will wait to see how things behave at the end of the month, but these projections remain.”