Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has started first-phase commercial operation of its new natural gas processing unit (UPGN) at the Boaventura energy complex (BEC) in Itaborai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as part of the operator’s Route 3 integrated project (PIR3) to expand transportation and processing of associated gas from the country’s offshore Santos basin presalt (OGJ Online, Mar. 27, 2023; Nov. 7, 2022, p. 40).

As of Nov. 11, UPGN’s Train 1 was processing 10.5 million cu m/day of natural gas from the Santos basin presalt cluster delivered via the new 355-km Route 3 gas pipeline (307 km offshore, 48 km onshore), Petrobras said in separate releases.

Train 2 of the Boaventura UPGN is scheduled to begin commercial operation by yearend 2024, bringing the site’s total gas processing capacity to 21 million cu m/day, the operator confirmed.

Part of the company’s broader Santos basin integrated gas-flow system designed to increase flows from presalt fields such as Tupi, Búzios, Sapinhoá, and others, the PIR3’s Boaventura UPGN is equipped to process feedstock it receives from the 18-million cu m/day PIR3 pipeline into at least three derivatives that—in addition to natural gas and LPG for commercial and residential applications—includes C5+ for use as a raw material in both petrochemical and fuel production, Petrobras said.

Commercial startup of the Boaventura UPGN comes as an essential element in supporting the combined PIR3 project’s goal of increasing cleaner energy supplies to the Brazilian market in line with a low-carbon future while simultaneously commercializing—and monetizing—associated gas production from the presalt cluster to help reduce the country’s dependence on imports as well as increase Petrobras’ competitiveness and financial sustainability in the evolving national gas market, according to the operator.

Focused on increasing supplies to Brazil’s domestic market, the PIR3 project—in addition to increasing presalt-flow capacity—brings greater flexibility to Petrobras operations since, regardless of the connection point, gas from Santos basin production fields can also be routed to the company's other processing units, said Renata Baruzzi, Petrobras’ director of engineering, technology, and innovation.

Petrobras also said that, in 2023, the company signed more than 34 natural gas-supply contracts that will account for more than 70 billion cu m in sales planned up to 2034.

Future plans

Alongside the PIR3 pipeline and Boaventura UPGN, Petrobras confirmed earlier in the year it is continuing to develop other projects within the BEC, including two gas-fired thermoelectric plants to enable participation in auctions planned for the electricity sector, as well as units for producing low-sulfur fuels and API Group II/II+ lubricating base oils based on feedstock of intermediate products delivered via pipeline from the operator’s nearby 239,000-b/d Duque de Caxias (REDUC) refinery in the Baixada Fluminense area of Rio de Janeiro (OGJ Online, Sept. 12, 2024).

Most recently slated to begin construction and assembly in 2025, Petrobras said these future BEC units will have capacity to produce the following:

• 12,000 b/d of Group II base oils.
• 75,000 b/d of low-sulfur (10 ppm) S-10 diesel.
• 20,000 b/d of aviation kerosine (QAV-1), or jet fuel.