Lula’s campaign plans to take Petrobras out of privatization program and buy shares in Eletrobras

Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) intends to take Petrobras out of the privatization program, stop the ongoing sale of state-owned refineries and also acquire a relevant stake in Vibra, formerly BR Distribuidora.

Allies of the pre-candidate for the presidency even defend the creation of a state-owned energy company, promoting the merger of Petrobras with Eletrobras, whose privatization has just been carried out by the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The largest Brazilian company, Petrobras was included in the PPI (Investment Partnership Program) by Adolfo Sachsida, Bolsonaro’s Minister of Mines and Energy.

President Bolsonaro was elected with the promise of privatizing federal state-owned companies and obtaining more than R$ 1 trillion from this process. However, he managed to pass the sale of Eletrobras in Congress after several concessions, and the pulverizing of the state-owned company was only carried out less than a year before the end of his term.

Eletrobras was included in the PPI in 2018, during the Michel Temer government. When he took over, Bolsonaro reinforced his intention to privatize it.

In addition, it included other state-owned companies in the privatization plan: Telebras, Correios, ABGF (Brazilian Management Agency for Guarantee and Guarantee Funds), Emgea (Asset Management Company), Serpro (Federal Data Processing Service), Dataprev (Technology and Social Security Information), Ceagesp, Ceitec (Center of Excellence in Advanced Electronic Technology) and the port of Santos.

The Casa da Moeda, was in the plan, but was withdrawn from the PPI after the government gave up on privatizing it.

Petrobras, on the other hand, entered Bolsonaro’s sights once and for all after the rising price of fuel and the series of readjustments promoted by the oil company.

Pressured by the increase in gasoline and diesel, the president appointed Sachsida as Minister of Mines and Energy, which he placed as a condition for taking office to initiate the privatization process of the state-owned company.

As soon as he took command of the portfolio, the minister, in one of his first acts, started the process of including the oil company in the PPI.

With no time to carry out the sale process, the gesture was interpreted as an attempt to signal to the market that campaign promises could be fulfilled in an eventual second term of Bolsonaro, who is seeking re-election.

Lula’s team, however, sees errors in Bolsonaro’s privatization strategy in this sector. For PT’s advisors, the price of energy soared, reaching one of the highest levels in history, and the oil barrel reached the mark of US$ 140, making the entire fuel chain in the country more expensive.

In the opinion of the former president’s advisors, it was a mistake for the government to accept agreements between Petrobras and Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), which imposed on the oil company the sale of refineries and gas pipelines to free it from a trial and possible punishment. by the competition defense body.

For CADE’s advisers, breaking Petrobras’ monopoly in refining and gas would be the only way to stimulate competition in the sector.

The refineries are for sale, but the results are frustrating because there has been an increase in fuel prices in areas previously assisted by Petrobras.

In Bahia, for example, a liter of gasoline produced at the Mataripe refinery (sold to the Mubalada fund) was sold for R$11.

The sale of BR Distribuidora, another target of criticism by the PT, prevented, according to Lula’s team, the distribution of fuel from reaching more remote areas, such as Acre.

For these reasons, Lula’s campaign foresees, for the time being, breaking the agreements signed with Cade and retaking Petrobras’ refineries. In this scenario, the oil company would again be judged by the court for alleged anti-competitive practices and, if convicted, would have to pay fines.

Also according to members of the former president’s team, the idea is to buy stakes in already sold refineries, such as Mataripe (formerly the Landulpho Alves Refinery) so that it is possible to interfere in these companies when there are crises.

This plan extends to BR Distribuidora and gas companies.

“It is not to renationalise, but to buy shares in these companies in order to get a seat on the councils”, said Senator Jean Paul Prates (PT-RJ), who is preparing the former president’s government plan in the area of ​​oil and gas.

“The Union, through its state-owned companies, will make an offer to these companies. If the shareholders accept, we will proceed with the deal.”

In the case of Eletrobras, Lula still does not have a closed plan. The company was privatized and, according to its new management model, whoever makes a proposal to acquire control will have to pay more than three times the market value of its shares – a lock to prevent the renationalization of the company.

Even so, PT’s team assesses that it is possible to take this project forward because the barrier only refers to proposals to acquire control. As the plan involves buying shares and promoting a consensual merger between the two companies, according to advisers, this would make it possible to escape legal restrictions.

“Our concern is: how to plan and coordinate the energy policy without Eletrobras and with a smaller Petrobras. In the case of Petrobras, it is necessary to face an ongoing situation of shrinkage of the company. It is necessary, among other things, to reorient the investment policy (and divestments),” says William Nozaki, technical coordinator at the Institute for Strategic Studies in Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, which participates in the elaboration of Lula’s government plan.

“In the case of Eletrobras, the situation is more complex, as it involves a consummated situation. And the privatization model imposed a series of governance barriers and legal disputes that echo beyond the Executive. Any proposal will require a subsequent political and economic evaluation.” , explains Nozaki.

If he succeeds with this project, Lula also intends to join Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) with ANP (National Petroleum Agency), creating an energy super agency.

For the PT team, the country needs to accelerate the energy transition and it no longer makes sense to separate the two things. Petrobras and Eletrobras are energy companies.