Brazil’s new Minister of Mines and Energy wants to privatize Petrobras

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The new Minister of Mines and Energy, Adolfo Sachsida, will commission studies on the privatization of Petrobras and the inclusion of PPSA (Pre-Salt Petroleum) in the government’s privatization program. He said this would be his first official act.

“My first official act as Minister of Mines and Energy will be to ask Minister Paulo Guedes, chairman of the PPI (Investment Partnership Program), to propose to the Council the inclusion of PPSA in the PND (National Privatization Program),” Sachsida said.

He added, “As part of my first act as a minister, I also request the start of studies to propose legislative amendments necessary for the privatization of Petrobras.”

Sachsida said that the capitalization of Eletrobras is also a priority of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, supported by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“It is fundamental that we move forward with capitalizing Eletrobras. It is an important sign to attract more capital to Brazil and show the world that Brazil is a haven for investment,” he said.

This was Adolfo Sachsida’s first statement as Minister of Mines and Energy. He made the statement in front of the press at the Ministry’s headquarters and left without answering journalists’ questions.

The new Minister of Mines and Energy has also prioritized the bill that transforms the division of pre-salt auctions into a concession system and the project that deals with the modernization of the electricity sector. The projects are in Congress.

He said he is “sure that, working with Congress, we will approve essential bills to improve the legal framework and legal certainty that will create the predictability needed to increase the flow of private investment to Brazil.

FUELS

Sachsida avoided speaking directly about fuels and Petrobras’ pricing policies. Skyrocketing prices have angered President Jair Bolsonaro and led to the resignation of former minister Bento Albuquerque on Wednesday (11).

This week, Petrobras announced another increase in diesel prices. The fuel rose 8.9% at refineries. Last week, the president made an “appeal” to the company not to increase costs.

The CEO urged Petrobras “not to break Brazil,” calling the company’s profits a “rape.” Petrobras posted a record net profit of R$44.5 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

However, the new minister said the government must move forward with structural measures, as “one-time measures have little or no effect and sometimes even have the opposite of what is desired.”

He also said that he has “100% support and endorsement” from Bolsonaro to work in this direction.

With information from Poder360

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error