Consortium confirms, details contract award for Petrobras’s Replan refinery

A consortium of Toyo Setal Empreendimentos Ltda. (TSE) and Toyo Engineering Corp. has confirmed and provided further details regarding its scope of delivery under its recently awarded contract to build a new diesel hydrotreater at Petróleo Brasileiro SA’s (Petrobras) 434,000-b/d Refinaria de Paulínia (Replan) refinery in Paulínia, São Paulo, Brazil (OGJ Online, May 11, 2022).

Alongside providing engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for the proposed $458-million diesel hydrotreating unit, Consórcio Toyo Setal HDT Paulínia’s scope will also cover EPC for an associated 150,000-cu m/d hydrogen recovery unit, as well as commissioning services for both new units, Toyo Engineering said in a June release.

Confirmation of the EPCC contract follows Petrobras’s May announcement of the contract award for Replan’s proposed diesel hydrotreater that, scheduled for startup in 2025, will enable the refinery to produce 100% low-sulfur Diesel S10 (10 ppm sulfur), as well as increase the refinery’s current production volumes by 63,000 b/d.

The planned unit also will increase Replan’s production of jet fuel by 12,500 b/d to help meet more stringent specifications and increased future demand for economically and sustainably produced cleaner fuels, Petrobras said previously.

Replan’s diesel hydrotreating project comes as part of the planned $6.1 billion Petrobras intends to spend on its refining business under the company’s 2022-26 strategic plan, as well as its previously announced RefTOP program, which aims to prepare the operator’s remaining refining assets both for an open, more competitive market in the country and the transition to a low-carbon economy (OGJ Online, June 10, 2021).

Alongside expanding existing refining capacity, refining-related investments will focus on initiatives to increase efficiency and operational performance of Brazilian refineries not involved in operator’s divestment portfolio, which in addition to Replan, include the:

• 239,000-b/d Duque de Caxias (Reduc) refinery in the Baixada Fluminense area of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state.
• 252,000-b/d Refinaria Henrique Lage (Revap) refinery in São José dos Campos, São Paulo.
• 170,000-b/d Refinaria Presidente Bernardes (RPBC) refinery in Cubatão, São Paulo.
• 57,000-b/d Refinaria de Capuava (Recap) in Mauá, São Paulo (OGJ Online, Mar. 9, 2021).