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Wed 14 May 2008, 10:20 GMT

Petrobras in no rush to buy Aruba refinery


Brazilian firm says no deadline date has been set for purchase of Valero refinery.

Brazilian energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) has indicated that it has not set a deadline for when to make a decision regarding the purchase of the Aruba refinery, currently owned by Valero Energy Corporation, Dow Jones reports.

Petrobras is reported to have been negotiating with Valero for months to buy its 255,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Aruba from where the Texas-based firm also carries out bunkering operations.

Speaking about the potential purchase, Almir Barbassa, Chief Financial Officer of Petrobras said that the company's objective was to find "the right refinery for the right price in the right spot", but it had not set a time target.

Barbassa indicated that the Brazilian oil firm was evaluating other possible refinery purchases in order to increase the company's refining capacity outside Brazil. He also pointed out that Petrobras would be willing to pull out of the Aruba refinery deal if it felt the conditions were not right to go ahead with the purchase.

Last month, Valero Energy Chairman Bill Klesse revealed that the company was carrying out a strategic review of its current refining portfolio and had been negotiating the potential sale of the Aruba refinery with a potential buyer. Klesse said the company expected to have an announcement during the second quarter of 2008.

Market sources reported in April that Petrobras had agreed to buy the Aruba refinery for approximately US$2.8 billion before a fire took place on January 25th in a vaccuum distillation unit, which carries out the initial breakdown of crude oil in the refining process.

Valero paid US$465 million for the Aruba refinery just four years ago.

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