Petrobras says it will not meet all demand for fuel in December

Petrobras will not fulfill all orders from distributors for fuel in December, amid the maintenance of a scenario of atypical demand seen also in November, the company said in a note to Reuters after being consulted.

The company, which currently operates its refining facilities with a utilization factor of approximately 87%, also said that there are currently dozens of companies registered with the ANP, the sector’s regulator, capable of importing fuel and that are able to meet this additional demand.

“As in the month of November, diesel orders sent by distributors for the month of December were atypical and higher than the market expected for this period,” said the company.

“After an availability assessment, considering our production capacity and supply, the volume accepted was lower than the orders received.”

The scenario occurs while fuel importers and distributors have pointed out a gap in the prices of diesel and gasoline practiced by Petrobras in the domestic market compared to abroad. This makes the value of the fuel from the state-owned company lower than the imported one, generating an escalation of orders.

Petrobras —responsible for almost 100% of the oil product production capacity in Brazil— has been pressured by various segments in the country to hold domestic values, and throughout the year it reduced the frequency of readjustments, in an attempt to avoid volatility.

However, Brazil is not able to supply the growing market demand with only domestic production and, therefore, it depends more and more on imports.

This week, the executive director of Finance, Purchasing and IR at Vibra (ex-BR), André Natal, said in a teleconference with analysts that it is natural that, in this scenario, companies seek to obtain all possible supplies from Petrobras, completing the rest with imports.

Natal also said that Vibra, which already has ample capillarity and logistical structure, has had no difficulty in passing on higher import costs for the sale of its products and that, in this way, it has even shown itself more competitive than other smaller independent and flagship players White.

Last month, when Petrobras said it would not meet 100% of the demand, the Associação das Distribuidoras de Combustíveis Brasilcom — which represents more than 40 regional distributors — pointed to a risk of shortages, amid difficulties faced by companies in obtaining supplies.

But at the time, the ANP denied that there was an indication of shortages and informed that it was monitoring.

Petrobras reiterated in an email to Reuters this Friday that the volumes made available by it to each customer followed the current regulation defined by the ANP and were applied to diesel and gasoline, and that “market service remains normal, with no shortage of news “.

Sought out the day before, Brasilcom confirmed in a note that distributors had cut their orders.

“We know that several companies have had cuts in their orders, both for gasoline and diesel, but mainly for diesel, with some cuts being quite significant,” said the association’s Institutional Relations director, Sérgio Massillon, without giving further details about the current scenario .