Petrobras CEO says no pressure from govt on fuel prices

Brazil's Petrobras was not pressured by the federal government to refrain from raising local fuel prices, its CEO said, after the state-run oil company announced a major hike in gasoline and diesel prices to track an "abrupt" global spike, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The move was welcomed by investors but is likely to upset the government, which has vowed to keep prices at the pump affordable, and brings renewed inflation fears just as the central bank started lowering interest rates.

Petrobras had been operating at discounts to international rates for weeks and until the price hike announced on Tuesday, markets had speculated on government interference. The price increase, which would raise average gasoline and diesel prices by 16.3% and 25.8% respectively, is the first by the oil giant since a new pricing policy was implemented under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in May.

The president took office in January, pledging to change the firm's strategy to prioritize consumers over blockbuster returns for investors. Chief Executive Jean Paul Prates said in an interview with GloboNews late on Tuesday he received no pressure from Lula to avoid adjusting prices.

"It's very important to say that at no time did he urge, influence or suggest any price movement, up or down," Prates said. "When he appointed me to the job, it was a move of absolute trust: 'You know what to do, so go and do it.'"

Prates said the weeks Petrobras spent without increasing prices were to avoid passing international volatility onto customers, as the new policy intended. However, as global oil prices consolidated at higher levels following seven weeks of gains, Petrobras had to hike local prices to avoid losing money, the executive added.

"The new pricing policy has been efficient and already helped us a lot in fighting volatility," Prates said. "It was a fair price adjustment and I think our policy has passed the test, given a lot of people were skeptical about whether Petrobras would raise prices if oil prices went up."

We remind, Petrobras said on Tuesday it will raise gasoline and diesel prices at its refineries starting Wednesday after what it called an "abrupt" increase in global oil prices. Petrobras said in a statement it will hike average gasoline prices by 16.3% to 2.93 reais ($0.5893) per liter, while diesel prices will be raised by an average of 25.8% to 3.80 reais per liter.

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Two explosions at an oilfield in western Siberia that killed two people did not lead to an oil spill, the head of Russia's environment watchdog Rosprirodnadzor said on Tuesday, adding that tests would show if the environment was harmed, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Two people were killed and six others injured in the explosions on Monday at the Talinskoye field in Russia's oil-rich Khanty-Mansiisk (Yugra) region, Russian news agencies reported.

The local health ministry said the six wounded were in severe or extremely severe condition and were being treated for burns. The ministry did not say whether anyone had died.

There was no oil spill, but the results of laboratory tests would determine if any harm was done to the environment, Rosprirodnadzor head Svetlana Radionova wrote on the Telegram messenger app.

We remind, Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports rose by 7% to about 1.7 million metric tons in the first 14 days of August from the same period in July on strong production volumes after seasonal refinery maintenance eased, data from traders and Refinitiv Eikon showed. In August so far, Turkey remains the top destination for diesel exports from Russian ports, taking about 42% of total supplies, or nearly 720,000 metric tons, Refinitiv shipping data showed.

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Brazilian chemicals and fertilizers producer Unigel announced its intention to request a 90-day extension for debt payments from its creditors, as per Fertilizerdaily.

The company, facing financial challenges, has taken this step as part of an ongoing effort to enhance its capital structure. Unigel’s move comes after a series of setbacks, including a delayed release of second-quarter results and credit rating downgrades that pushed its debt commitments into a riskier category.

In June, Unigel engaged the services of a financial advisor to revamp its capital structure following a disappointing Q1 performance and rating downgrades from credit agencies. The company’s financial struggles prompted a suspension of fertilizer production at its Laranjeiras plant due to elevated input costs linked to soaring natural gas prices. Additionally, several chemical production facilities, including styrene and polystryene plants, were temporarily shut down due to unfavorable market conditions.

Unigel has convened a General Debenture Holders Meeting, scheduled for September 5th, to discuss various matters, including the proposed 90-day extension for debt negotiations and the formulation of new debenture terms. The extension, if granted, will allow the company to engage in constructive dialogue with its creditors and chart a path toward financial recovery.

Furthermore, Unigel’s collaboration with Brazil’s energy major Petrobras is poised to play a pivotal role in sustaining fertilizer production within the country. Although specifics regarding the partnership remain undisclosed, it is deemed “essential” to maintaining active fertilizer production in Brazil.

We remind, Thyssenkrupp nucera and Unigel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase the capacity of the green hydrogen plant that Unigel is developing in Bahia, Brazil, from 60 MW to 240 MW of water electrolysis. The signing ceremony was held in Belo Horizonte, during the visit of the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Dr. Robert Habeck.

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MRC) -- Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras said it will raise gasoline and diesel prices at its refineries starting Wednesday after what it called an "abrupt" increase in global oil prices, said Reuters.

Petrobras said in a statement it will hike average gasoline prices by 16.3% to 2.93 reais (USD0.5893) per liter, while diesel prices will be raised by an average of 25.8% to 3.80 reais per liter.

It is the first price hike by the oil giant since a new pricing policy was implemented under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who took office in January pledging to change the firm's strategy in order to help it lower consumer costs at the pump.

Petrobras approved the new policy in May, ditching a more market-based strategy in favor of greater flexibility to smooth price swings, but said it had no option other than raising prices this time.

"The consolidation of oil prices at a higher level makes it necessary for Petrobras to make the price adjustments for both fuels," the company said.

Crude oil prices in international markets have registered gains for the past seven weeks. Chief Executive Jean Paul Prates had previously said that even though the new policy would avoid passing international volatility onto customers, Petrobras' fuel prices would not dip "below profitability".

The newly implemented pricing system is meant to be less volatile than its predecessor, which used a so-called fuel import parity policy that more closely aligned prices at the pump with the oil market and exchange rates.

Prates said at the time the company would still adjust prices based on market factors, but the price tweaks would be rolled out more slowly. Petrobras said its gasoline prices are still down roughly 5% year-to-date, while diesel prices have fallen by an accumulated 15.4% in the period.

We remind, Petrobras is not planning to sell its 36% stake in petrochemical firm Braskem, newspaper Valor Economico reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources. Petrobras is one of Braskem's main shareholders alongside conglomerate Novonor, which holds a controlling stake in the firm but has sought to sell it to repay creditors after entering bankruptcy protection. According to Valor Economico, Petrobras CFO Sergio Leite said during a meeting with analysts that the company has no plans to sell off its stake in Braskem.

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The Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) found net carbon emissions fell 20% using a vegetable oil biofuel blend compared with very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) in a trial for a dual-fuel liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This was the third of five supply chain bunkering trials that the GCMD has undertaken as part of an USD18-MM project to test different biofuel blends to reduce carbon emissions. The trials are key to helping the fuel and shipping industries come up with green fuels to meet the International Maritime Organization’s 2030 and 2050 decarbonization targets.

The biofuel blend used in the latest trial comprised marine gasoil blended with 30% hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) that was produced from 100% waste and residues. Using the HVO resulted in an 83% reduction in emissions compared to using fossil-based marine gasoil, the GCMD said in a statement.

GoodFuels supplied about 200 metric tons of the biofuel blend to the mid-sized gas carrier Kaupang operated by Eastern Pacific Shipping. Meanwhile, blending marine gasoil with 30% biofuel as a pilot fuel for LPG combustion led to a 20% net reduction in emissions versus sailing on very low sulfur fuel oil.

A tracer was dosed with the HVO and blended with marine gasoil onboard the bunker vessel for origin and quantity monitoring. "Transparency is becoming even more crucial as we are now starting to bring the new generation of sustainable marine fuels to market," said Johannes Schurmann, commercial director at GoodFuels.

The remaining supply chain trials will be run in the next few months, while details of the assurance framework will be shared through a public report in early 2024, according to GCMD. Previous trials involved blends comprising used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME) blended with very low sulfur fuel oil and high sulfur fuel oil respectively.

Biofuel bunkering volumes have trended higher at the world's top bunker hub, Singapore, with bio-blended low sulfur fuel oil sales climbing to a monthly record high in July.

We remind, Midwest distillate inventories increased rapidly in June and early July due to increased regional refinery production and limitations on moving distillate and other products outside the region. Distillate fuel oil includes products such as diesel fuel and heating oil. In the five weeks between June 9 and July 14, regional distillate inventories increased 18% (4.7 million barrels). Prior to June, Midwest regional inventories had been trending near or below the bottom of the previous five-year (2018–22) range.

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