2023-05-25 14:07:13
The country is one of the world’s biggest oil producers and could guarantee cheaper fuel if the logic were not superprofits for shareholders.
Petrobras announced this Tuesday (5/16) the change in the fuel price policy with the end of the PPI (Import Parity Price), which dictated the readjustments made by the company since October 2016.
By: CSP-Conlutas
Due to the PPI policy, the prices of gasoline and diesel were calculated based on the international price of a barrel of oil, the dollar, and import costs. The mechanism generated strong volatility and led to successive (and abusive) increases in fuel prices in the country. To get an idea, in 2017 there were 118 readjustments, a situation that was the basis for the truckers’ strike the following year.
According to a statement released, the readjustments will be made without a defined periodicity, but the company did not detail how the increases will be made. According to Petrobras, the new pricing policy will continue to take into account international prices as “market reference” and also local production costs and refining conditions in each region of the country.
The company and government representatives stressed that the measure does not represent government interference and that the “commitment to long-term financial sustainability” is maintained.
price reduction
Shortly after the announcement of the end of the PPI, Petrobras announced a reduction in the prices of gasoline, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) sold to distributors.
The liter of gasoline sold to distributors drops from R$ 3.18 to R$ 2.78 (reduction of R$ 0.40, drop of 12.6%); diesel goes from R$ 3.46 to R$ 3.02 per liter (reduction of R$ 0.44, drop of 12.8%) and LPG from R$ 3.22 to R$ 2.53 per kilo (reduction of R$ 8.97 per 13 kg cylinder, a drop of 21.3%).
In the distributor and in the resellers, the reductions are not automatic or equal. According to the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, at the gas station, it is estimated that the liter of gasoline will drop, on average, from R$ 5.49 to R$ 5.20; the S10 diesel, from R$ 5.57 to R$ 5.18. The gas cylinder should fall below R$100 for the first time since October 2021, with the average price being R$99.87 for a 13 kg cylinder.
However, the state company had already been practicing values above the reference of the PPI itself. This is due to the fact that Brent (international price of a barrel of crude oil) had a devaluation of 19.9% and the exchange rate remained stable (fall of 0.08%), however, the price of derivatives in the domestic market rose 11.7% % in the last period.
According to a survey by the Social Petroleum Observatory, Petrobras sold gasoline at R$3.18, a difference of 40 cents over the price charged by the Mataripe Refinery, in Bahia. Compared to the Amazon Refinery (Ream), in Manaus, the price is 26 cents higher. The S-10 diesel is marketed by the state company at R$ 3.46. The liter costs 35 cents more than the Mataripe price and 19 cents more than the Amazon Refinery price. The two refineries were privatized and, from the beginning, charged higher amounts than Petrobras.
The new policy is not clear
The end of the PPI has been a claim, from the beginning, of the oil unions and various specialists, since it was a policy that only served the interests of Petrobras shareholders and private importers. As they denounced, the Brazilian people paid in dollars and the costs of importing something produced nationally.
However, ending the PPI is not enough. “It is not clear how the readjustment policy will be effectively applied by the company. If the logic of Petrobras continues to be to guarantee super profits to shareholders, there will be no change in fact”, says Eduardo Henrique, director of Sindipetro-Rio de Janeiro (RJ), of the FNP (National Federation of Oilmen) and member of the National and State Executive of RJ of CSP -Conlutas.
“Along with the end of the PPI, it is necessary to reverse the privatizations already carried out, such as that of BR Distribuidora, Liquigás and refineries; as well as guarantee a strong investment plan, which allows, for example, to use all the refining capacity of the country; end outsourcing and the policy of astronomical dividends to shareholders and, above all, strengthen a 100% state-owned Petrobras under worker control”, defends the leader.
“Brazil is one of the largest oil producers in the world, it refines a large part of the oil, with national production costs, it has highly specialized labor and technology. Therefore, it has all the conditions to provide fuel at the lowest possible cost and strengthen the industry and national sovereignty.“, he claimed.
Article published in www.pstu.org.br16/5/2023.-
Translation: Natalia Estrada.
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