Petrobras resumes works to increase production in Abreu e Lima by 160%

A visit by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should mark this Thursday, 18th, the resumption of public investments in the Abreu e Lima Refinery, in the metropolitan region of Recife (PE), which was at the center of the corruption scandal investigated by Operation Lava Jet. The details of the new project were announced this Wednesday, 17th, by Petrobras executives.

Work to expand the unit will begin in the second half of this year and should be completed in 2028, when the refinery will have the capacity to process 260,000 barrels of oil per day – well above the 100,000 barrels processed today. The production of S10 diesel (low sulfur content) alone must be increased by 13 million liters per day. At the end of this process, Abreu e Lima will account for 10% of Petrobras' refining, compared to the current 6%.

Furthermore, the project envisages the construction of the first unit in the country that will transform sulfur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) into a new product for sale.

The investment is foreseen in Petrobras' strategic plan and is part of the federal government's New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC). Experts criticize the state-owned company's business model, predicting the resumption of investments in refineries, to the detriment of greater expenditure on exploration of the pre-salt area (more information on page B2). In addition to Lula, the visit should be attended by the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, and representatives from the Civil House and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

The value of the investments was not disclosed. According to the executive manager of production development projects at Petrobras, Mariana Cavassin, the total amount to be disbursed in the Abreu e Lima project over the next five years cannot yet be revealed because the construction tenders for the so-called Train 2, one of the three stages of the project, proposals are being received until February. After that, she said, the figures should be revealed.

'Robust and viable project'

“We evaluated the project in all economic scenarios that Petrobras has in its portfolio. And we evaluate each of the stages separately and also together to ensure that the project is robust and economically viable, with a positive return for the company”, said Mariana, adding that the works should peak in 2025, with the promise of generate 30 thousand direct and indirect jobs.

Abreu e Lima was launched in 2005, during the first term of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It was designed as a joint project with Venezuela, during the Hugo Chávez government. Petrobras would be responsible for 60% of the investments and the remaining 40% would be contributed by Venezuela, which never happened.

With the neighboring country's withdrawal, Petrobras decided to build alone, initially, just one of the two refining sets (train), at an investment estimated at around US$2.5 billion, an amount that, over time, increased to US$18.5 billion. The unit began operating in 2014 – with a delay of three years –, being at the center of Operation Lava Jato investigations for overbilling during construction works.
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.