Brazil pulls Braskem from Petrobras divestment program

Brazil's President Michel Temer has excluded petrochemical giant Braskem from the multibillion-dollar divestment program of state-run oil company Petrobras.

The decree, published in the official gazette on Thursday, also precludes the sale of Petrobras' stake in detergent producer Deten Química.

The government did not immediately provide reasons for the decision.

Petrobras holds 47% of Braskem's common shares and 21.8% of its non-voting preferred stock. It has a 28% interest in Deten.

In August, Petrobras said it formed a working group with Braskem's controlling stakeholder, Odebrecht, to facilitate its exit from the company.

The group aimed to "increase shareholder value" by improving corporate governance in the wake of the Lava Jato corruption scandal, Braskem said in a September statement.

Petrobras and Odebrecht have been major targets of Lava Jato investigators, which in July led to a near 10-year jail term for former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Braskem has since revealed a new yellow and blue logo, removing similarities with that of Odebrecht.

Petrobras is selling US$21bn worth of assets in the second phase of a four-year divestment program. The Rio de Janeiro-based company plans to use proceeds to reduce debt and bankroll deepwater oil production.