Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) and partner China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) have completed an economic feasibility study concluding it is not economically attractive to complete construction of the previously stalled 150,000-b/d Comperj refining complex in Itaborai, Rio de Janeiro state (OGJ Online, Nov. 5, 2018; July 5, 2018; Aug. 15, 2016).
In accordance with the 2018 agreement between Petrobras and CNPC, projects related to the proposed strategic partnership—which, alongside completion of the Comperj refinery, also included CNPC's 20% stake in the Marlim cluster (Marlim, Voador, Marlim Sul, and Marlim Leste concessions)—have been terminated with no deal, Petrobras said.
Accordingly, Petrobras’s board of directors approved measures to cancel the project and requested a survey of alternatives for the Comperj area, located in Itaborai, Rio de Janeiro.
Among the alternatives, Petrobras is studying the integration of its 232,000-b/d Duque de Caxias (Reduc) refinery in Rio de Janeiro state with some mothballed Comperj units for production of high-quality basic lubricants and fuels from Reduc intermediate products sent for processing at Comperj via pipelines, the operator said.
The study also includes the possibility of building a thermoelectric plant, in partnership with other investors, using natural gas from Brazil’s pre-salt.
Petrobras, however, will maintain implementation of the Integrated Project Rota 3, which includes the Rota 3 gas pipeline, a natural gas processing unit, and associated utilities required for its operation to enable flow of 21 mcmd of pre-salt gas beginning in 2021, the company said.
The 307-km Rota 3 gas pipeline links Lula Norte field to Marica, Rio de Janeiro, with interconnections preinstalled for future production from Atapu, Berbigao, Buzios, Libra, Sepia, and Sururu fields.
Petrobras said projects under study are in line with its 2020-24 strategic plan, which aim to increase the company’s competitive performance in refining and gas activities. Execution of these projects, however, still depends on completion of feasibility studies for each of the projects.
Despite the dissolved partnership for the Comperj refinery and Marlim cluster projects, Petrobras and CNPC will continue to seek new joint business opportunities by strengthening their cooperation, which began in 2013 with the partnership in the Libra area, followed by the acquisition of the Peroba Block (together with BP PLC) in 2017, and recently the exploration and production rights of the surplus volume of the transfer-of-rights agreement Buzios field, the Brazilian operator said.
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
