). Oil behemoth Saudi Aramco, which is planning one of the world’s largest initial public offerings, is also looking at the refining units’ numbers.
Petrobras, PetroChina, Ultrapar, Sinopec and Vitol did not immediately comment on the matter. Raizen, Trafigura, Saudi Aramco and Glencore declined to comment.The deal, to be one of Petrobras’ largest divestitures ever, would transform Brazil’s oil industry and may raise around $18 billion, bankers working on the deal say. Refining has traditionally been state-owned in Brazil, triggering occasional calls for government price controls.
Antitrust watchdog CADE has already forced Petrobras to change its refinery sale process to boost competition, demanding the separate sale of each of the eight refineries. A single buyer will be barred from buying two of the largest refineries in the same area, whether it be the northeast, the south or the southeast.