Abreu e Lima will be the first in the Americas and third in the world; The unit is expected to start up in December
The Abreu e Lima Refinery, a Petrobras unit in the city of Ipojuca, in the metropolitan region of Recife, is making the final adjustments to start operations at the U-93 Snox unit, the technical name of the structure that will reduce the emission of polluting gases resulting from the production process. refining and, in addition, transforming the chemical substances into a product to be sold.
The forecast is to start up Snox in December. With the installation in operation, Abreu e Lima (Rnest) will reduce the emission of polluting gases sulfur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), transforming the substances into sulfuric acid.
This is the 1st Snox unit in the Americas and the 3rd in the world. The other two are in Italy and Austria. The operation will provide Petrobras with at least 3 positive factors: the reduction of pollutant emissions; revenue from the sale of sulfuric acid; and the increase in refining capacity, mainly for S-10 diesel, considered cleaner.
Snox will eliminate 99% of SOx and 95% of NOx emissions. With fewer pollutants being released into the atmosphere, the gain for the environment is direct, as well as for the population living around Abreu e Lima, a refinery strategically located half an hour by car from the Port of Suape and 14 kilometers from the Porto de Galinhas resort.
“Our socio-environmental responsibility has to be huge, we are in a region that is a paradise”said the refinery’s general manager, Márcio Maia.
Revenue
Rnest’s future sulfuric acid production has already been sold. There is a contract between Petrobras and the Bauminas group, one of the country’s main companies in chemical products for water treatment. The agreement between supplier and buyer is valid for all of Petrobras’ production for the initial period of 10 years. The values were not revealed by the state-owned company.
“Our production will generate capacity to treat water for 30 million people”said Maia.
One of Abreu e Lima’s managers, Rodrigo Avelino, who visited the Austrian installation, highlights Snox’s technological advances. “This unit is the state of the art for this type of treatment in the world. There are few units in the world”these.
“We are going to sell sulfuric acid, it is another income for the refinery”he added, highlighting that there is a “social gain” with the contribution to water treatment.
Avelino explains that this process is restrictive for Rnest in Brazil because of the age of the other refineries. “The last refinery before Rnest was in 1980, so this technology did not exist when they were created.”
Capacity increase
Opened on November 24, 2014, Abreu e Lima is Petrobras’ newest refinery and has the capacity to process 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The limit follows the determinations of the CPRH (Companhia Pernambucana do Meio Ambiente), an environmental body of the state government, which is based on standards from Conama (National Environmental Council), linked to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA).
With the operation of Snox and lower emissions of polluting gases, Rnest will have a new framework in environmental legislation, allowing the refinery to have increased production capacity, reaching 115 thousand barrels of oil per day. The practical effect will be the potential for more revenue for Petrobras, as it will have more derivatives to sell.
In the SOx elimination process, the unit will also produce energy in the form of steam, which will be used within the refinery facilities, reducing gas consumption.
Resumption of investments
Snox cost the state-owned company R$520 million. At its peak, construction by the Conenge-SC Possebon consortium employed 1,300 workers. The installation is part of Abreu e Lima’s initial project, but only became a reality on the refinery’s 10th anniversary.
One of the reasons for the delay was the impact of the Lava Jato operation. At the time, the investigation found problems with the construction contracts, which were overpriced and misappropriated resources. In 2015, when only Rnest Train 1 was operating, the expansion works – which in addition to Snox included Train 2 – were halted.
Train is the name given to the production line made up of 3 main interconnected units of any refinery: oil separation, conversion and treatment of derivatives.
“All of this could be ready, Train 1, Train 2, all the units. What happened was the interruption of works in 2014, 2015”said Maia.
“In 2015, Petrobras didn’t even have a balance sheet. She spent a period without investment capacity”said the manager of the Surface Systems, Refining, Gas and Energy area, Alexandre Ataide.
In 2018, the then management of Petrobras adopted a repositioning, which consisted of searching for partners to buy part of Abreu e Lima. “She spent about 2 years looking for partners. You didn’t have an environment conducive to new large-scale investments”said Ataide.
In 2019, the first year of the government (2019-2022), the refinery was included in a divestment process, that is, Petrobras would completely sell Rnest. However, from 2023, under the president’s government (PT), the decision was revised.
“We went from a refinery, until recently, in disinvestment, to the refinery with Petrobras’ biggest investment”said Ataide.
Cleaner diesel
Occupying an area equivalent to 600 football fields, the refinery accounts for 6.5% of all Petrobras’ oil processing, ranking as the 2nd largest producer of S-10 diesel in the country, behind only the Paulínia Refinery (SP ).
The fuel has an ultra-low sulfur content, with a maximum of 10 parts per million (ppm). For comparison, the S-500 diesel has 500 ppm.
Used by light and heavy vehicles, S-10 diesel provides greater energy efficiency and lower environmental impact. Around 70% of the diesel used in Brazil is S-10. In 2023, the Pernambuco refinery alone produced around 2.8 billion liters of S-10 diesel, which corresponds to 10% of the country’s demand. This volume was enough to supply, for example, 6.1 million trucks.
On July 31 of this year, the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels), a regulatory body linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, created a policy to direct the discontinuation of the S-500 diesel, which will be replaced by the S-10 , which will increase demand for less polluting fuel.
Production flow
About an hour’s drive from Recife and integrated into the Suape Port Industrial Complex, Abreu e Lima produces enough diesel to supply the entire Northeast Region and also send excess diesel to the rest of the country by ship.
“We are umbilically linked with the Suape terminal”said general manager Márcio Maia. “Petrobras represents almost 80% of everything that is handled at the Port of Suape”he stated.
To receive oil and flow oil products, 12 pipeline lines 11 kilometers long connect the refinery to the Port of Suape, which houses 18 distributors. The majority (54%) of the oil received by Rnest comes from the pre-salt.
Diesel accounts for 65% of Rnest’s production. The other derivatives produced are naphtha/gasoline (15%), export fuel oil (10%), coke (8%) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas (2%).
Because of the refinery, Petrobras accounted for 6.1% of the ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) collection in Pernambuco in 2023 and contributed R$50 million in ISS (Tax on Services) to the municipality of Ipojuca. Rnest’s operations and works employ more than 5,300 workers.
The refinery has a high degree of automation, meaning that the operation is conducted through a control room, allowing employees to open a valve remotely, for example.
Revamp
In addition to the increase in refining capacity, provided by the environmental restructuring, the Abreu e Lima Refinery will undergo a review and expansion process, called revamp (renew) in oil industry jargon.
O revamp consists of renewing equipment. The service is underway, carried out by the company Engecampo. Once the modernization is completed – which should take place in the 1st quarter of 2025 – Rnest will expand production capacity from 115 thousand to 130 thousand barrels of oil per day.
According to the coordinator of Rnest’s Production Development Projects area, Bruno Daguano, the budgeted cost of R$93 million means that the expansion is equivalent to US$1 million (equivalent to R$5.75 million) per barrel of oil. For comparison purposes, building a completely new refinery would be 35 times more expensive.
“These revamp projects are extremely profitable and allow us to increase production at a much lower cost than building new refineries”said Daguano, who made the comparison based on data from the international study Capital Cost Benchmarking for Refining, by S&P Global.
“It is one of Petrobras’ most advantageous projects”declared manager Ataide.
General manager Márcio Maia highlights that the completion of the revamp will be reflected in the expansion of the state-owned company’s profit margin, as it will be possible to process up to 100% of pre-salt oil.
“From a margin perspective, it is the best strategy. If I take national oil that I produce myself, at a viable cost, I improve the company’s results”these.
Capacity
To cope with economic growth, Brazil hopes to increase production capacity by 225 thousand barrels of oil per day in the coming years. Around 60% of this expansion should be through Abreu e Lima machines and equipment.
Simultaneously with the revamp, Petrobras is working to complete the works on Train 2 at the Abreu e Lima Refinery. The project was approved in mid-2023. Petrobras does not disclose the budgeted amount, considering the information confidential, as there is an ongoing bidding process.
What is known is that the cost is within the US$17 billion package planned for investments in refining, transportation and marketing, according to the company’s strategic plan for the period from 2024 to 2028.
When visiting the refinery, Agência Brasil’s report was able to see that part of Train 2 was built, as if it were a “draft”, as it was foreseen in Rnest’s original project. The structure mirrors Train 1. The state-owned company’s estimate is that Train 2 will gradually begin operating in 2028. Construction could generate 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Snox, the emissions reduction unit, will not need a “mirror”, that is, the unit that should start operating in December 2024 will also be used by Train 2.
According to Abreu e Lima’s initial project, there would be a second Snox, so much so that some parts were assembled at the beginning of the refinery’s construction. This would be necessary as there was an expectation that Rnest would also refine Venezuelan oil, which is different from Brazilian oil. However, there was no agreement between Brazil and Venezuela, and another Snox became unnecessary.
Import reduction
When it reaches full capacity, Abreu e Lima will be able to refine 260,000 barrels of oil per day. This is equivalent to adding 13 million liters of diesel oil to production, enough to supply 10.5 million trucks annually.
This increase in production will enable Brazil to reduce the need to import diesel. “We are a refinery that was designed to help Brazil not import diesel”said Maia.
“We supply Pernambuco, it has the potential to supply the entire Northeast through road transport. In the overturning and ship modes, we complement production in the North, Southeast and South, to reduce imports in these regions. The more we reduce imports, the better for the country and for the trade balance”said the general manager.
Renewable energy
Despite the direct connection with fossil fuels, the Abreu e Lima Refinery has initiatives linked to renewable energy. One of them are studies to develop renewable diesel, which consists of adding vegetable content to the processed oil, with the green content varying from 5% (diesel R5) to 10% (diesel R10). “Aiming to have a cleaner product”declared Maia.
Another project is the installation of a photovoltaic plant (solar energy), which will begin contracting in a few months, according to the general manager. Energy production will be 12 megawatts, equivalent to 7% of the refinery’s consumption.
With information from .
