Petrobras seeking EPC contractor for REPLAN refinery project

Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has opened an international tender to find an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor to carry out installation of a new diesel hydrotreater and related auxiliary systems at its 434,000-b/d Refinaria de Paulínia (REPLAN) refinery in Paulínia, São Paulo.

Part of the operator’s plan to modernize the REPLAN refining complex and scheduled for startup in 2025, the proposed diesel hydrotreating unit is to have a Diesel S10 (10 ppm sulfur) production capacity of 10,000 cu m/day, Petrobras said on June 28.

Alongside enabling REPLAN to produce 100% low-sulfur Diesel S10, the planned unit also will increase the site’s production of jet fuel to help meet more stringent specifications and increased future demand for economically and sustainably produced cleaner fuels, according to the operator.

Start of the tendering process follows Petrobras’s previous announcement that it was executing a similar project at its 239,000-b/d Duque de Caxias (REDUC) refinery in the Baixada Fluminense area of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state, as well as its intention to carry out similar projects in the coming years at both its REPLAN refinery and 252,000-b/d Refinaria Henrique Lage (REVAP) refinery in São José dos Campos, São Paulo (OGJ Online, Mar. 9, 2021).

Downstream modernization program

While its downstream divestment program remains ongoing, Petrobras said earlier in the summer it is proceeding with a program to prepare its remaining refining assets for an open, more competitive market in the country, as well as for the transition to a low-carbon economy (OGJ Online, June 10, 2021).

Known as RefTOP, the program consists of a set of initiatives that seek to implement improvements to increase efficiency and operational performance of Brazilian refineries not involved in the divestment portfolio, which in addition to REPLAN, REVAP, and REDUC include its 170,000-b/d Refinaria Presidente Bernardes (RPBC) refinery in Cubatão, São Paulo and 57,000-b/d Refinaria de Capuava (RECAP) in Mauá, São Paulo.

Alongside initiatives to increase the refineries' energy performance by enabling better reuse of inputs such as natural gas, electricity, and steam generated by their own operations, the RefTOP program also will promote intensive use of digital technologies, automation, and robotization throughout the refining complexes, including expanding existing use of digital twins.

Another important driver of the program involves increasing production of high value-added products such as diesel and propylene, the latter of which will serve as feedstock for the petrochemical industry to help meet rising demand for plastics.

Petrobras said the program will help the refineries leverage processing of Brazil’s own low-sulfur presalt crudes, which will allow the sites to achieve competitive advantages and opportunities for increasing margins by favoring production of low-sulfur S-10 diesel and bunker fuel.

Petrobras plans to invest about $300 million in the RefTOP program through 2025, which is included as part of $3.7 billion in total investments included as part of the operator’s 2021-25 strategic plan.