Petrobras reported today (4) that it has reached, in the last three months of 2021, an average of 88% of capacity use at its refineries. According to the company, at the beginning of this month of February, the average reached close to 90%.
The company explained that operational decisions in refining consider that for each barrel of oil processed at the refinery, several other products are generated and subsequently distributed. When producing diesel, for example, fuel oil is also necessarily produced, which needs to be drained and distributed to end customers.
Therefore, the calculation of the best level of processing always respects, in addition to economic and safety criteria, the technical limitations of product distribution capacity, possible volumes to be stocked, demand behavior, costs and prices. According to Petrobras, an eventual increase in the refinery’s load would result in the production of other derivatives of lesser value.
The director of Refining and Natural Gas at Petrobras, Rodrigo Costa, stated that the definition of the level of use of refineries is complex because it involves different products and must be taken based on technical-economic criteria. He added that Petrobras “is investing in its refineries and the market has grown and demanded more fuel from the company, which results in a use above the historical average”.
Costa indicated that the presence of new investors, such as Mubadala Capital, which acquired the Landulpho Alves Refinery, in Bahia, reinforces the investment capacity and service of a growing and increasingly dynamic market, in which Petrobras is one of the players. . The company participates in the sector together with several other investors, and the practice of prices aligned with global markets is fundamental for the proper functioning of the fuel market in Brazil.
