Company issued noteFernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
Published 05/02/2024 13:04
Petrobras clarified this Monday, 5th, that the contract with Unigel, signed on December 29, 2023, followed the understandings initiated in June of the same year (nondisclosure agreement), and is aligned with the Strategic Plan 2024-2028 (PE 2024-28) of the company, which foresees the state-owned company’s return to the production and sale of fertilizers.
According to the newspaper “O Globo” on Sunday, 4th, minister Benjamin Zymler, from the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU), ordered Petrobras to explain the signing of the contract, which could result in a loss of R$487 million. In a note, the state-owned company stated that it will provide all technical clarifications and justifications to the TCU within the required period.
Petrobras stated that the tolling industrialization contract is in force, and reiterated that all contracts and projects are drawn up and executed following all the standards and requirements of “governance, decision-making hierarchy and operational responsibility of the company”.
According to the company, the contracting with Unigel for the Petrobras gas processing service as raw material and the delivery and sale of fertilizers to the contractor, in the form of a service contract (“tolling agreement”), does not represent a definitive undertaking. and autonomous.
“This is a provisional measure that allows the continuity of the operation of the plants located in Sergipe and Bahia (which belong to Petrobras) for a provisional eight months, while the contractors engage in the first phase towards a definitive, profitable and viable solution to supply these products to the Brazilian market”, explained the state-owned company.
The need to supply the national fertilizer market has been widely reiterated since the Lula government took office in January 2023. In 2022, around 86% of all fertilizers used in Brazil — one of the world’s largest food producers — were imported . Currently, the largest reorganization of operations in Petrobras’ fertilizer segment is foreseen in the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan.
“Petrobras’ business strategies ensure that our resources are used on time and on appropriately valued assets, in order to guarantee a greater return on invested capital, in a safe and sustainable way”, informed Petrobras.
