Petrobras to Invest $87.1 Billion by 2011 with 25 % Up in Refining Capacity

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Sugar Land, Texas). Petrobras (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is planning to invest $14.2 billion in increased refining capacity between 2007 and 2011. This amount will come out of a total of $23.1 billion to be spent on marketing and refining in the period, said the state owned company’s supply area director, Paulo Roberto Costa, presenting the plan in Sao Paulo.

This investment represents 26% of the total investment of $87.1 billion being made by the company in the period and is nearly double the value of $12.4 billion set in the previous plan for downstream activities, which covered 2006 to 2010.

The refining investment will go to the conversion of existing refineries - 19% for improvement in the quality of gasoline produced; 12% for diesel fuel quality; 6% for safety, security, environment and health; 19% for upgrading Brazil’s 11 existing refineries; 26% for the conversion of those refineries to allow for the processing of more heavy crude; 5% for maintenance and infrastructure and 13% on special and other projects.

The total supply area investment is directed at increasing the national oil processing capacity, modernizing the refining park, producing byproducts with more market value. 61% will be taken by refining; 14% petrochemicals; 12% maritime transportation and 13% for terminals and pipelines.

Current refining capacity stands at 1.908 million bpd (barrels per day) and the target set for 2011 is 2.376 million bpd (up 24.5%) and for 2015 million 3.210 million bpd (up 68% from current level).

In sectors other than refining the business plan sees $40.7 billion going into oil exploration and production; $7.2 Billion for gas and energy; international investment $12.1 billion; distribution $2.2 billion and $1.7 billion for the corporate area. In the petrochemical and fertilizer sector the plan has $3.3 billion with a focus on the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperj). Funds will also be put into a third nitrogenated fertilizer unit; a polypropylene unit in Paulinia; an acrylic acid unit in Minas Gerais and a PTA/POY plastics unit in Pernambuco.

The supply area will take 60% of the $10.189 billion Petrobras will invest in the state of Sao Paulo. The Replan refinery in Paulinia will receive $1.299 billion; the Recap refinery in Capuava $294 million; Henrique Lage – Revap $2.039 billion; Presidente Bernardes-Cubatao RPBC $782 million. $219 million will be put into petrochemicals and $1,489 billion into Transpetro operations in the state.

The maritime transportation sector will receive $2.8 billion. In addition to funding and FSO (floating, storage and offloading) platform and ten platform supply ships vessel extra investment will be made in a fleet expansion and modernization program (Promref) to build 26 vessels.

For related news item see August 9, 2006 – Petrobras Aims to Increase Brazil’s Oil Production by Building Two New Refineries by 2014.

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