“With respect to the acquisition of Brenco, Petrobras clarifies that it is in discussions with the aim of identifying possible synergies in the area of biofuels production,” Petrobras says in a statement.

It adds that talks are “at a preliminary stage and no deal has been closed. There is no deadline for the conclusion of the talks”.

Last month, three senior executives left Brenco, which has been hunting for partners to inject R$300m ($164m) into the young company.

However,