Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (BOVESPA:PETR4) said on October 1, 2021 it had halted talks with Brazilian conglomerate Ultrapar Participações S.A. (BOVESPA:UGPA3) on the sale of the state-run oil company's Refap refinery, part of its program to sell eight plants. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said it would relaunch the process of selling Refap in the future but did not provide a date. “Despite the efforts made by both companies in this process, certain critical conditions were not met for an agreement,” Petrobras said in a securities filing, adding there would be no penalties for either party.

Petrobras had announced in January 2021 that Ultrapar was leading the talks to acquire the asset, but three people close to the deal told Reuters at the time that the state-run firm was trying to push the conglomerate to boost its offer. Petrobras put up eight refineries for sale as part of a broader program of divestitures, with two sold so far. The company said negotiations for the sale of three others - Regap, Lubnor and SIX - were continuing.