06/06/2024 – 21:06
Petrobras approved in a meeting held this Thursday (6) the return of operational activities at the fertilizer factory Araucária Nitrogenados SA (Ansa), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The factory, located in Paraná, has been hibernated since 2020.
The procedures necessary to restart the factory will begin immediately. With the decision, the company also authorizes Ansa to enter into an agreement and hire former employees, subject to approval of the agreement by the Superior Labor Court (TST). The operation is expected to restart in the second half of 2025.
In view of the review of the company’s strategic guidelines approved last year, investment in fertilizer production was once again part of Petrobras’ portfolio, according to the 2024 – 2028 Strategic Plan.
Located next to the Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery (Repar), Ansa has a production capacity of 720 thousand tons/year of urea and 475 thousand tons/year of ammonia, in addition to 450 thousand m³/year of automotive liquid reducing agent (ARLA 32 ). The plant, located in Paraná, has been in hibernation since 2020.
Both labor agreements and the carrying out of bidding and hiring were subject to a new deliberation by the Executive Board, when the procedures are defined.
Strike
Petrobras approved the hibernation of the fertilizer factory of its subsidiary Araucária Nitrogenados in January 2020, resulting in the dismissal of 396 employees.
According to the company, the unit had been showing recurring losses since it was acquired in 2013, with losses of around R$250 million between January and September 2019, while forecasts for 2020 indicated that the negative result could exceed R$400 million.
At the time, Petrobras explained that the raw material used at the factory (asphalt waste) was more expensive than its final products (ammonia and urea). The company reported that it was unable to sell the factory and decided that the unit would remain hibernated “in conditions that guarantee total operational and environmental safety, in addition to the integrity of the equipment”.
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