Petrobras defends pricing policy and asks for investigation to be closed

Petrobras told the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) that the investigation into the fuel readjustment is unusual and asked for the administrative investigations opened by the council to be closed this month.

“For all the above, it appears that any concerns about Petrobras’ conduct that may have motivated the present investigation are unsubstantiated, which is why CADE’s General Superintendence is required to determine its summary filing”, says the document sent by the company.

In response to Cade this week, Petrobras also came out in defense of the fuel price policy. The manifestation has 45 pages and 140 topics, with arguments and graphics.

According to CADE sources heard by the CNN, the response is being analyzed, which will take at least until the beginning of next week. In practice, Cade does not have a deadline to complete the procedure, and may require new information from the company.

In the demonstration, Petrobras complains that the object of the investigations is too broad and demands “detailed” explanations from Cade about what exactly is being investigated. The company points out that a term of commitment is still in force, signed by Petrobras, after the board’s investigation into the company’s operations in the refining market.

In a critical tone, he questions Cade’s attribution and says that it is not up to the body to set prices and have information on Petrobras’ profitability. “It is, in all evidence, an absolutely unusual procedure, in light of the legal attributions of a competition defense body. It would not make any sense, in fact, for CADE to propose to regulate prices in the oil derivatives refining market”, he highlights.

price parity

Petrobras argues that oil is a commodity and that, therefore, it is regulated by the international market. But not just for that. “The import parity price is just a reference to the value of products in the Brazilian market, being one of the decision elements for adjustment. This concept is widely used for pricing all types of commodities in open economies around the world, including Brazil,” he says.

In the justification, he explains what he takes into account when following ups and downs of the foreign market, how not to fail to pass on the costs of the product. “Limited prices below its real market value do not correctly signal the scarcity of the product, encourage irresponsible consumption and, in the short term, impact the imports necessary to complement national production and, in the long term, compromise the investments necessary for operational continuity and industry upgrade, which can lead to obsolescence and shortages. In the case of the energy industry, this could represent a bottleneck for economic growth as a whole”, informs the company.