Brazilian oil giant Petrobras (Rio de Janeiro / Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) plans to sell its styrenics subsidiary, Petroquímica Innova, to Videolar (Barueri, São Paulo / Brazil; www.videolar.com.br) for about BRL 372m (EUR 118m), including about BRL 23m of debt. Innova produces ethylbenzene, styrene and PS at its site in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul.

The deal, announced 16 August, has been approved by the Petrobras board and remains subject to regulatory approval. It is one of several divestments totaling USD 2.1 bn announced by Petrobras. The divestments are part of the group’s plans to sell non-core assets and protect cash.

Petrobras also approved the sale of a 35% stake in a Santos Basin oil exploration project to China's Sinochem Group (Beijing; www.sinochem.com) for USD 1.54 bn and stakes in an oil field block in the Gulf of Mexico and a thermal energy company in Brazil.

According to Plasteurope.com database Polyglobe (www.polyglobe.net), Innova has the capacity to produce 270,000 t/y of ethylbenzene, 255,000 t/y of styrene and 147,000 t/y of PS at its site in Triunfo, while Videolar has the capacity to produce 170,000 t/y of PS at its site in Manaus, Amazonas / Brazil.