PETROBRAS: Company Could Seek Partners For Refining Business

(RTTNews) - The Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras will seek partners for its refining business.

"We can look for partners, but we will continue in this area, as we are an integrated company," said Petrobras Investor Relations executive manager Isabela Rocha during a meeting with investors.

She reiterated that the company strategy is to divest its refining assets abroad and focus on the domestic market, with the sale of the Pasadena refinery.

The executive also said that the company already has a business model and that the possibilities for this area are to sell a minority stake in the refining area or even to put a small group of refineries in the divestment program.

"We should announce it soon because it still needs to be approved by the council," she said.

According to Rocha, one of the main hurdles in putting the proposal into practice is investor mistrust regarding the government's willingness on keeping the current fuel prices policy, and how the company would divest the area without disrupting the company.

"I think the main issue is giving the player confidence that he will have access to the market and will not have interference from the government," she said.