Private refinery in Bahia raises gasoline and diesel prices

While the government pressures Petrobras to hold on to readjustments, the Mataripe Refinery, the only private refinery in the country, decided to pass on, on Saturday (8), the rise in oil prices to gasoline and diesel prices.

The price of gasoline rose by 9.7% and that of S-10 diesel by 11.3%. The company says that its prices “follow market criteria, which take into account variables such as the cost of oil, which is purchased at international prices, dollars and freight, which may vary up or down.”

Controlled by the Arab fund Mubadala since December, the Mataripe Refinery has been quicker than Petrobras to pass on variations in international quotations to the prices of its products, which earned it criticism at the beginning of the year, when oil was rising in the international market. .

“The company has a transparent pricing policy, supported by technical criteria, in line with international market practices,” said Acelen, a company created by Mubadala to manage the refinery, in a statement.

After weeks of falling on fears of global recession, prices rose again last week with the decision of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) to cut production by two million barrels a day.

After the series of cuts promoted by Petrobras, domestic fuel prices were already below international prices since the end of September, but the lags have widened in recent days, putting pressure on the direction of Petrobras.

At the opening of the market on Monday (10), the average price of gasoline in Brazilian refineries was R$ 0.36 per liter below import parity, a concept that simulates how much it would cost to import the fuel.

In the case of diesel, the difference measured by Abicom (Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers) was R$ 0.75 per liter, the highest value since June 16th. The next day, Petrobras increased the price of fuel by 14.2%.

Now, the company is pressured by the government to hold the transfer until the second round of the elections is voted, to avoid spills in the campaign for the reelection of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

In the first round, helped by the drop in oil prices, Petrobras contributed positive news to the campaign, announcing price cuts almost weekly. It even started to publicize price changes in products that had not been publicized before, such as asphalt.

The strategy was criticized by the opposition and by representatives of minority shareholders, for the electoral use of the company, which has also been suffering from the loosening of its governance and started to accommodate government allies in its high echelon in the administration of Caio Paes de Andrade.