Petrobras and the Águas do Rio concessionaire, responsible for public water supply and sewage services in 27 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, signed agreements so that the industrial operations at the Duque de Caxias Refinery (Reduc) and at the Gaslub Hub, located in Itaboraí, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, will be supplied with reused water. According to Petrobras, these will be the largest industrial reuse projects implemented so far in Brazil.
The agreements provide that after the formalization of the definitive contracts and the implementation of the projects, around 28,908,000 cubic meters (m³) of water will be reused. The volume is enough to supply a city of 250,000 inhabitants.
In the opinion of Petrobras’ director of Refining and Natural Gas, Rodrigo Costa, progress in these agreements will allow Petrobras to continue its commitment to reduce the capture of fresh water in its operations in the coming years. “The company has been working on water security, both by adopting water reuse projects in its operations and effluent treatment, and by sponsoring projects for the conservation of springs and riparian vegetation”.
The president of Águas do Rio, Alexandre Bianchini, said that the use of reused water in industrial processes is in line with the best global practices and demonstrates the company’s commitment to the 2030 agenda of the United Nations (UN). “It ensures better use of natural resources and water security in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro without impacting the development of industries. This sustainable model must be replicated. For this reason, we entered into an agreement with Petrobras, for the economic growth of the industrial hub, optimizing the use of natural resources and guaranteeing the availability of this resource essential to life for the most vulnerable”, said Bianchini.
Details
In the case of Reduc, the signed contract formalizes Águas do Rio’s role in capturing and supplying, via pipelines owned by Petrobras, 3,300 cubic meters per hour (m³/h) of water to the refinery and other industrial units served by the same system. The intention of the parties to advance in understandings was also formalized in the contract so that Águas do Rio would start supplying reused water to Reduc from 2024 onwards. ceasing to capture water from the Guandu and Saracuruna systems.
At the Gaslub Hub, where Petrobras is concluding the Route 3 Integrated Project, which involves the Itaboraí Gas Processing Unit, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two companies, with a view to negotiating agreements for Gaslub to start receiving, in its current and future projects, up to 3,940 m³/h of reused water.
In this hub, Petrobras is accelerating production projects for advanced lubricants, ultra-low sulfur diesel, aviation kerosene and thermal generation. With the signed agreements, Águas do Rio intends to advance its investment commitments in the São Gonçalo Sewage Treatment Station, with direct benefits in the goals of cleaning up Guanabara Bay.
According to Petrobras, the two projects are in line with the ESG ambitions and commitments, which involve the environmental, social and governance areas, highlighted in the company’s 2023-27 Strategic Plan. One of Petrobras’ ESG goals is to reduce by up to 40% the volume of freshwater abstraction in its operations by 2030, which means reducing by around 60 million m³ of fresh water the volume abstracted per year in its operations, by that time. date.
