Brazil's Petrobras could get up to 2.5 billion reais (US$768.07 million) from the sale of its LNG distributor Liquigas Distribuidora SA, a local daily newspaper reported on Aug. 3.

In June, the debt-laden Petrobraskicked off a competitive auction for Liquigas, a subsidiary focused on the distribution and sale of LNG.

Newspaper O Globo reported that the country's largest LNG distributor Ultragaz; Supergasbras, controlled by the Netherlands' SHV; Nacional Gas; and Copagaz are in the running bid for Liquigas.

Gavea Investimentos Ltda., the hedge fund run by former Brazil central bank chief Arminio Fraga, and Turkey's Aygaz, are also interested but unlikely to win the bid, the daily newspaper said without citing sources.

Petrobras is also considering extending the deadline to receive the bids to Aug. 30 from Aug. 19, O Globo reported.

Petrobras' press office could not be immediately reached for comments.

Liquigas, which has a 23% market share in Brazil's LNG market, has 23 plants, 19 warehouses and a network of 4,800 resale shops across the country. (US$1 = 3.2549 Brazilian reais)