Petrobras offloading Texas refinery, building domestic one

摘要

The Brazilian state energy firm announced its intention on Feb. 6 to sell its HOK-b/d Pasadena, TX (US) refinery as part of its ongoing $21B 2017-18 divestment plan to lower its debt burden. Petrobras paid $360MM for a 50% stake in the refinery back in 2006 from Astra Oil. By 2012, Petrobras had sunk an additional fl.l2B into the refinery, including buying out Astra's remaining 50% stake. The Pasadena deal has come under scrutiny in Brazil as part of the ongoing Car Wash corruption investigation, that claims Petrobras lost billions of dollars as a result of widespread corruption in dozens of contracts. Brazilian audit court TCU (Tribunal de Contas da Uniao) said the Pasadena deal caused losses of over f 580MM. Interested companies have until Feb. 23 to request more information on the refinery and sale process.