While CNPE did not mention state-run Petroleo Brasileiro, known as Petrobras, by name, the company has announced a plan to sell off eight refineries in a process that it has said could fetch some $15 billion. Roberto Castello Branco, the chief executive of Petrobras, has said it is important that no regional refining monopolies are created via the divestment process. Some analysts, however, have criticized the Petrobras divestment plan, as the firm will retain almost all refining capacity in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, home to over 60 million people. (Reporting by Gram Slattery and Marcela Ayres, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)