The Council of the Investment Partnerships Program (CPPI) today (2) approved a resolution that recommends the edition of a decree by President Jair Bolsonaro to allow the beginning of studies on the privatization of Petrobras.
The official inclusion of Petrobras in the PPI can only be done after the decree. An inter-ministerial committee, made up of the Ministries of Economy and of Mines and Energy, will be in charge of studies, both on the privatization of Petrobras and on the sale of contracts with PPSA, the state-owned company that manages the commercialization of oil extracted from the pre-salt layer.
According to the special secretary of the PPI, Bruno Westin Leal, the recommendation approved today does not mean the inclusion of Petrobras in the National Privatization Plan (PND). This is because the entry of the oil company in the PND requires approval of a bill or provisional measure by the National Congress.
“We don’t have a set deadline for submitting a project. [sobre a Petrobras],” Westin declared. “Objectively, there is no horizon”, added the secretary, when asked about deadlines for the conclusion of studies and a possible privatization.
In relation to PPSA, the special secretary for Privatization of the Ministry of Economy, Diogo Mac Cord, clarified that the government does not intend to privatize the state-owned company, which, in his words, “has no value in itself. According to him, the Union wants to sell the rights to receive the values of contracts under a sharing regime. “How this will happen is the subject of studies,” he declared.
Although the government did not confirm deadlines for a possible privatization of Petrobras, Mac Cord said that the sale of the company to the private sector would stimulate private investment, at a time when the planet is going through an energy transition. He also assessed that a possible privatization would increase competitiveness.
“Since the 1940s, when a state-owned model was decided, the oil sector was concentrated in one company. Throughout the studies, we will see how the increase in competition can happen. The important thing is, with 70 years of delay, we manage to provide a competitive environment”, commented Mac Cord.
At today’s meeting, the PPI Board approved the lease of four more port terminals: in Porto Alegre, São Francisco do Sul (SC), Itaguaí (RJ) and Vila do Conde (PA). The agency also approved the re-bidding of the BR-163 in Mato Grosso and the Galeão airport (RJ), whose concessions are being returned to the government. In these two cases, studies to define the auction model still need to be done.
perspectives
The PPI Council also presented a balance of the agency’s activities in the last three years and updated the auction portfolio for 2022. By the end of the year, the government wants to auction more than 90 assets to the private sector, which will result in private investments of almost BRL 190 billion.
The government bets on Congonhas Airport concession (SP) and 14 more airports, approved yesterday (2) by the Federal Audit Court (TCU). The PPI Council also highlights the auction of three lots of highways in Paraná and two auctions of power transmission lines.
Also in 2022, the government wants to auction ten public-private partnerships (PPPs) for public lighting, in cities such as Curitiba, Camaçari (BA), Nova Iguaçu (RJ) and Colatina (ES). The PPI list for this year also covers three solid waste projects until the end of the year: in Teresina, Bauru (SP) and Consórcio Comares (CE).
The highlight this year, according to the PPI Board, will be the privatization of Eletrobras, which, unlike a direct auction, will take place through a share dilution program. In this model, the Union will reduce the participation in the company from just over 70% to a maximum of 45%.
Swing
The PPI Board released a balance of activities over the past three years. According to the agency, 150 projects were auctioned from January 2019 to May this year, which resulted in the contracting of R$865.7 billion in private investments and yielded R$149.5 billion in revenue from grants to the government.
This year alone, 19 projects were auctioned, resulting in R$ 29.5 billion in the contracting of private investments and in the collection of almost R$ 2 billion in grants. According to special secretary Bruno Westin Leal, the highlight was the sale of Companhia Docas do Espírito Santo (Codesa), the first fully privatized company of its kind.
