Petrobras is the second-largest shareholder in Braskem, Brazil’s only petrochemical producer. The company will allocate 13 billion reais to the construction of a new plant in Itaboraí, focused on producing petrochemical derivatives, with another 7 billion reais dedicated to expanding a nearby refinery.
The demand for gasoline and distillates is also weakening, as evidenced by a 2.3 million-barrel increase in gasoline inventories. Despite this rise, gasoline stocks are still about 1% below the five-year average for this time of year.