One of the largest biofuel producers in Brazil had the operating permits for its four plants belonging to the Virgolino de Oliveira group revoked by the ANP. The Itapira, Bonifácio, Ariranha and Monções units, located in São Paulo, had their cancellations published in the Official Gazette (DOU) this Wednesday.
At first, the four plants of the Virgolino de Oliveira group had their decision taken based on the documents necessary for authorization of the biofuel production provided for in the ANP regulations. These documents are the operating license issued by the competent environmental agency and the inspection report issued by the Fire Department. With the cancellation of the four units, the country officially lost an estimated daily capacity of 2,61 million liters of hydrated ethanol and 1,49 million liters of anhydrous.
This is the last revocation that occurs in the Virgolino de Oliveira group after almost two years trying to deal with its debts without going bankrupt. Earlier this month, the group had announced the negotiation of BRL 7 billion in debt through what would be one of the largest judicial recovery plans in the country.
Although that wasn't enough to save the four plants of the Virgolino de Oliveira group, there is still hope for the group. In the middle of this month, the company partially reactivated its factory located in the city of Bonifácio. The unit was authorized to produce up to 200 liters per day due to the global pandemic caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
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However, even with this small achievement, it is essential that the group's leaders take important measures to avoid the company's financial collapse. Therefore, it is essential that those responsible for plants of the Virgolino de Oliveira group comply with current environmental legislation and manage to obtain the necessary certificates to resume activities at other units.
The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) recently approved a public consultation process to reformulate the regulation related to license revocations for energy production plants.
The change in legislation came about as a result of the Fuel Production Superintendence (SPC), which identified possible problems related to the minimum operational safety conditions of these facilities.
However, the director general of ANP, Claudio Jorge, informed that the Monções and Bonifácio plants were pending the delivery of the negative debt certificates (CDNs) before the federal, state and municipal tax authorities. However, this obligation was suspended due to the judicial recovery process.
Other documents required for granting the license are the Informative Register of Unpaid Credits of the Federal Public Sector (Cadin) and other clearance certificates. In order to obtain authorization and start work at the plants, interested parties must meet all the requirements established by the regulatory agency.
These changes in regulation also influence the Brazilian electricity sector, since the plants are responsible for producing and distributing electricity for the whole country. Thus, it is important that companies adopt measures to adapt to the new rules and continue to act within the legal parameters established by the agency.
For this, it is necessary that fiscal regularity be maintained. To ensure this, it is essential that the managers of these plants of the Virgolino de Oliveira group be aware of changes in legislation and keep up to date with the documents required by the ANP to ensure the regular functioning of the national energy sector.