Petrobras' decision to sell part of its oil refining assets is in line with its guidelines and strategic objectives and, at the same time, is in line with the objective of the National Energy Policy to promote free competition in the sector, as well as preserve the interests of the consumer.

In September 2016, Petrobras announced, in its 2017-2021 Business and Management Plan, its repositioning vis-à-vis the market in which it began to aim at maximizing the value of the Company through an active management of its portfolio, with concentrated investments in the oil exploration and production sector.

In addition, the Company started to adopt strategies to promote market price policy and maximize margins in the value chain, as well as reduce the risk in operations in exploration and production, refining, transportation, logistics, distribution and marketing, through partnerships and divestments.

At first, these directions made the import activity, which was carried out almost entirely by Petrobras, more attractive and enabled the operation of other economic agents, as well as investments in the sector, resulting in a competitive business environment. In 2019, the participation of other agents in the import of diesel oil and gasoline was 68% and 65%, respectively, resulting in more competitiveness in the sector and benefits for society.

In April 2019, advancing its strategy, the Company included eight refineries in its divestment projects, totaling 1.1 million daily oil processing capacity, equivalent to about 50% of the Brazilian refining park.

The REGAP, RLAM, RNEST, LUBNOR, REMAN, REFAP, REPAR and SIX refineries are expected to be sold by 2021, in accordance with the Term of Commitment for the Termination of Practice signed in June 2019 between Petrobras and the Administrative Council of Defense Economy (CADE). The Competition Defense Agency considered that there was a high concentration in the refining segment, recommending that the sale of refining assets should occur entirely, without any active or passive participation by the Company in the corporate structure of the seller; and, that regional competition be promoted.

In line with CADE's guidelines, materialized in Technical Note No. 37/2018 / DEE / CADE, of December 2018, the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) made a historic decision to promote competition in the refining activity of oil in the country by approving Resolution No. 9, of May 9, 2019, with the objective of stimulating the entry of new actors and attracting investments to the sector.

As a result of this process, there is an expectation of greater competition in the primary supply of fuels, ensuring that the market will continue to be able to serve the Brazilian consumer, with better conditions of offer, price and quality of products.

It should be noted that the Plenary of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) decided favorably for the disposal of the control of public companies and mixed capital companies in the following terms: (i) the disposal of the control of public companies and mixed capital companies requires legislative authorization and bidding; and (ii) the requirement for legislative authorization, however, does not apply to the sale of control of its subsidiaries and controlled companies. In this case, the operation can be carried out without the need for bidding, as long as it follows procedures that observe the principles of public administration, inscribed in art. 37 of the Constitution, always respecting the requirement of necessary competitiveness.

In this way, the Ministries of Mines and Energy (MME) and Economy (ME) reinforce the need to enforce the previous decision of the STF and support the process of transition from the refining segment to a framework of greater plurality of agents, more open and dynamic. Ministries have been working to prepare the sector for this transformation, together with other bodies and with broad participation by the sector, representative entities and other stakeholders, through the Abastece Brasil initiative, based on governance,stability, legal certainty and regulatory, and predictability, fundamental conditions for making investments in the sector.