Brazil's state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras kicked off Tuesday construction of the Abreu e Lima refinery in northeast Brazil, which is expected to process 200,000 barrels of oil per day when completed.
Originally the refinery was a joint venture between Petrobras and Venezuela's government-owned PDVSA, but the two failed to reach an agreement on the partnership, local press reported.
Petrobras president Jose Sergio Gabrielli said last week that the company would continue with the project on its own.
The refinery will have a processing capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day, and is expected to produce about 814,000 cubic meters of naphtha annually for the petrochemical industry, 322,000tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), 8.8 million tons of diesel fuel and 1.4 million tons of petroleum coke.
In a press statement, the company said the plant would focus on diesel production in order to fulfill the northeast region's growing demand for oil derivatives.
The refinery will be built in the Suape Port region, in Pernambuco state, where studies have indicated favorable geographic and infrastructure conditions for the project.
Petrobras highlighted the importance of the project, which will be the first oil refinery built in Brazil since 1980. Additionally, it will be the first Brazilian refinery to exclusively process heavy oil, which represents 80 percent of all the oil produced in the country.
Petrobras added that the Abreu e Lima will be able to produce derivatives with low sulfur levels, reaching the standard established by the European Union.
Originally the refinery was a joint venture between Petrobras and Venezuela's government-owned PDVSA, but the two failed to reach an agreement on the partnership, local press reported.
Petrobras president Jose Sergio Gabrielli said last week that the company would continue with the project on its own.
The refinery will have a processing capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day, and is expected to produce about 814,000 cubic meters of naphtha annually for the petrochemical industry, 322,000tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), 8.8 million tons of diesel fuel and 1.4 million tons of petroleum coke.
In a press statement, the company said the plant would focus on diesel production in order to fulfill the northeast region's growing demand for oil derivatives.
The refinery will be built in the Suape Port region, in Pernambuco state, where studies have indicated favorable geographic and infrastructure conditions for the project.
Petrobras highlighted the importance of the project, which will be the first oil refinery built in Brazil since 1980. Additionally, it will be the first Brazilian refinery to exclusively process heavy oil, which represents 80 percent of all the oil produced in the country.
Petrobras added that the Abreu e Lima will be able to produce derivatives with low sulfur levels, reaching the standard established by the European Union.