Petrobras CEO: Reacquiring Mubadala-Owned Mataripe Refinery Is Not a Priority

Petrobras (PETR4.SA) does not see the repurchase of the Mataripe refinery owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala (MUDEV.UL) in Brazil as a priority, the state-run firm's Chief Executive Magda Chambriard said on Friday.

The repurchase of the refinery, also known as RLAM, located in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia was seen as important given that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva campaigned against the sale in 2021.

"What I can tell you is that RLAM is not my priority," Chambriard told journalists during an earnings call, adding that the proposal by Mubadala for Petrobras to buy back the asset is "a deal like any other."

The firm still needs to evaluate the asset further to see if reacquiring it would advantageous for Petrobras, she said. The two firms have been discussing the sale for several months.

Discussion of a possible buyback surfaced last year when Mubadala proposed a joint investment in traditional refining and a new biorefinery sharing infrastructure with RLAM in Bahia state, a stronghold of Lula's Workers Party.

This week the firm confirmed that its due diligence process to buy RLAM was wrapping up.

Petrobras owns 11 refineries producing about 80% of domestic fuel production, after selling two plants under former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Built in the 1950s, RLAM is Brazil's second largest refinery, with the highest capacity for production of gasoline, diesel and other oil derivatives in northern and northeastern Brazil, according to operator Acelen, which is controlled by Mubadala.

(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira and Marta Nogueira; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)