Petrobras rejects the idea of increasing its stake in Braskem as it negotiates its debt.

Magda Chambriard, the president of Petrobras, rejected the idea of increasing the state’s stake in the struggling Braskem petrochemical company. She emphasized that any further investment would require involvement from other investors.

“We have no plans to increase our involvement, so Petrobras will not invest in Braskem unless other shareholders do so,” she informed reporters at ROG.e, the primary oil and gas sector event in Rio de Janeiro.

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William France, a Petrobras executive and Braskem board member, expressed his desire for Brazilian petrochemicals to negotiate with creditors to restructure approximately $11 billion in debts and prevent the need for legal recovery.

Braskem aims to reorganize its debt following years of financial challenges caused by an environmental catastrophe and an extended decline in the industry.

The company submitted an out-of-court restructuring request in August, and creditors of debt securities requested that the major shareholders, Petrobras and IG4 Capital, commit $3 billion in fresh capital.

A new state support for Braskem, managed by France, responsible for Petrobras’ industrial processes, has not been finalized yet.

“We cannot rule out any options in this nation,” he stated when asked about the potential for a request for judicial recovery. “However, Petrobras, as a shareholder, is involved in the extrajudicial restructuring process, aiming to reach an agreement with creditors.”

The aim is to become a “robust company” within the next five to six years, transitioning from being the sixth largest petrochemical producer globally to the fifth or fourth largest.

Chambriard mentioned that Petrobras has been overseeing Braskem’s activities following a new shareholder agreement, with IG4 focusing on corporate and financial management. He stated that this setup is already yielding positive outcomes.

Petrobras has become more engaged in the discussions and aims to prevent a court-supervised restructuring request, but has hesitated to agree to the demanded financial support commitment by creditors, as per sources familiar with the matter.

Braskem is expected to offer a new alternative to creditors during the board of directors meeting on Friday, as reported by Pipeline of the Economic Value. Chambriard and France declined to provide any comments on the proposal.