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Carlos Fávaro, current Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, explains that Petrobras must resume the construction of UFN-3 and other fertilizer factories. However, who partially agrees with this idea is Simone Tebet, Minister of Planning and Budget of Brazil.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Carlos Fávaro, Petrobras should resume the construction of three nitrogenous plants, extremely important fertilizers for the agribusiness Brazilian. He stated that he intends to go down in history as the minister who helped in the process of sustaining agriculture in Brazil. However, the current Minister of Planning in the Lula government, Simone Tebet, has an opinion that is somewhat contrary to Fávaro's. But that the decision will be taken after the change in the presidency of Petrobras.
Sales attempts from one of the fertilizer plants
“There are three started. The proposal is to structure, see what you need to finish and they are ready to supply nitrogen again. We want to invest in technology, in the search for phosphates, with a little in Brazil, and also in potassium chloride. There is a national fertilizer plan, which we are going to continue. President Lula has already determined to my colleague Minister of Mines and Energy (Alexandre Silveira) that one of the programs that Petrobras has to participate in is the continuity of nitrogenous production plants, which were already started and were paralyzed, the three that are returning ”, reported Carlos Fávaro.
One of the factories is the Nitrogen Fertilizers Unit, UFN-3, located in Três Lagoas (MS), where its work has been paralyzed since December 2014.
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Works related to UFN-3, which were 81% advanced, began in 2011. However, the contract with the consortium was terminated by Petrobras in 2017, when it reported having no interest in following up on fertilizers. Thus putting the unit up for sale with another factory located in Paraná.
In 2020, two more units were leased, one located in Bahia and the other in Sergipe, to the Unigel group, after the closure of activities there.
In 2022, the UFN-3 sale process was resumed shortly after several attempts, but there was no success in the sale.
In a statement, the state-owned company explained that the business plan proposed by the Acron Group, a producer of Russian mineral fertilizers, which was to build a mixer in the UFN-3 structure, did not correspond to the established requirements, where the main transition requirement was to conclude the construction works.
Another company that was investigating the possibility of purchase was Yara Fertilizantes, a Norwegian chemical company that produces, distributes and sells fertilizers.
She was also negotiating the purchase of another unit located in Paraná, but withdrew from continuing the purchase process.
Carlos Fávaro and Simone Tebet: who is right about the resumption of construction of UFN-3 by Petrobras
According to the new Minister, the plan is for the state-owned company to take over the factories. "We live in a globalized world and with the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine, we saw the weaknesses of this globalized world. This happened with fuel, the price of oil soared, we saw the weaknesses. We saw the national insecurity of not having fertilizers. Fertilizers have to be treated, we discovered that, almost like food security, national security, because there is no food if there is no fertilizer".
Simone Tebet, current Minister of Planning and Budget of Brazil, was former mayor of Três Lagoas and knows the history of the unit well, highlighting its importance.
“This is a strategic plant for the federal government and for Brazil, because it alone has the capacity to double the production of nitrogenous fertilizers. Brazil is increasingly dependent on fertilizers in the world”, says the minister.
However, she stated that the direction of the UFN-3 is hazy and will only become clearer after the month of February, when Petrobras' presidency will change.
