Petrobras’s REPLAN refinery boosts output of IMO 2020-compliant fuel

Petróleo Brasileiro SA’s 434,000-b/d Paulínia Refinery (REPLAN) refinery in Paulínia, São Paulo, has broken its monthly production record for production of low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) that complies with the International Marine Organization’s (IMO) new regulations requiring ships to use marine fuels with a sulfur content below 0.5%

In May, REPLAN’s production of IMO 2020-compliant LSFO—or Bunker 2020—reached 123 cu m, which was 36% higher from the refinery’s previous production record of 90,000 cu m in January, Petrobras said on June 24.

During the first 5 months of 2020, REPLAN was responsible for 12% of all Bunker 2020 fuel produced by Petrobras refineries, the operator said.

REPLAN’s Bunker 2020 production is transported by pipeline to the Barueri onshore terminal, where it is stored to be sent via pipeline to the Porto de Santos in Santos, São Paulo, for loading to ships.

Bunker 2020 fuel produced by Petrobras’s refineries starting in 2019 complies with IMO’s Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention), which lowered the maximum sulfur content of marine fuel oil used in ocean-going vessels to 0.5% from 3.5% beginning Jan. 1, 2020.