A federal court in Sergipe state in Brazil on Friday blocked the proposed sale by Petrobras of a 90% stake in the NTS natural gas pipeline system to a Brookfield-led consortium for $5.19 billion, seriously jeopardising the state-run oil company's divestment programme.
Judge Marcos Antonio Garapa de Carvalho suspended the sale of NTS, suggesting that Petrobras had not complied with the relevant regulatory requirements during the disposal of the asset.
"Although it is a business operation, a public entity cannot choose who to sell part of its assets, because there could be others interested in the business, and having more competition could have increased the value of the business," the judge...
