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Tue 16 Sep 2008, 09:29 GMT

Petrobras 'no longer evaluating' Aruba refinery


Brazilian firm says it is no longer in talks to purchase the bunker-producing facility.

Brazil's state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) S.A. is no longer in talks to purchase Valero Energy Corporation's Aruba refinery, according to Dow Jones.

Petrobras Downstream Director Paulo Roberto Costa is reported to have said yesterday at the Rio Oil and Gas Conference that the company was "no longer evaluating" the purchase of the facility and that discussions on the subject had ended.

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.

In May, Petrobras then appeared to indicate that it was in no rush to purchase the Aruba facility when Almir Barbassa, Chief Financial Officer of Petrobras said that the company had not set a deadline for a decision regarding the purchase.

He commented that the Brazilian oil firm was evaluating other possible refinery purchases in order to increase the company's refining capacity outside Brazil and 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.

In July, Valero revealed that it still had plans to sell its 255,000 barrel-per-day Aurba refinery. Bill Klesse, Valero’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, said the company planned to continue to pursue a potential transaction for the facility from where it also carries out bunkering operations.

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