Petrobras will continue to process 1,1 million barrels of oil per day after selling eight refineries, Anelise said during Rio Oil & Gas
The director of Refining and Natural Gas at Petrobras, Anelise Lara, assured that the company will remain a strong competitor in the new refining market in Brazil, which will be formed in the coming years from the sale of eight, out of a total of 13, refineries today managed by Petrobras. This statement was made this Wednesday (2/12), during the panel “The new downstream market” at Rio Oil & Gas, the largest event in the sector in Latin America.
“We will continue with 1,1 million barrels of oil being processed per day. We have already carried out several actions in energy efficiency, decarbonization, digital transformation and we have also developed more advanced products”, said Anelise, who foresees the challenge for Petrobras to prepare the teams for this new scenario. “Because we've had a monopoly for so many years, we have procedures that will need to change to become more competitive. We need to gain in flexibility, maintaining the governance and integrity of the processes”, said the executive.
A successful example that can be adopted for this change in culture, according to the director, is what was observed in relation to operational safety. The Recordable Accident Rate in the Refining and Natural Gas area reached the mark of 0,3 per million man-hours, with a world average of 0,9. “We achieved this result because safety is an intrinsic value for us, it's in our blood. Now, we have to seek increasingly lower costs and better operating performance. With these values and guidelines, we will certainly be a strong competitor”, predicted the director.
Petrobras divestments and energy transition
The Brazilian downstream market will be changed by two big moves, according to Anelise: Petrobras' divestment of half of its refining capacity and the energy transition, which will demand new products, such as renewable diesel and BioQAV.”It will be a totally different market. Today, we only compete with importers, but there will also be competition between refineries. This will bring new players and more investments in logistics, technology and new products”, explained the director.
Petrobras has already received final offers for the purchase of four refineries and expects to receive, later this year, proposals for another two. The two remaining units are expected to enter the final sales phase in the first quarter of 2021.
