With information from Sindipetro, the Petrobras refinery has already stopped producing approximately 11 thousand cubic meters of LPG and 75 million liters of gasoline

As published by Sindipetro (Oil Workers Union of the state of São Paulo), since last Monday (July 5), the Paulínia Refinery (Replan) of Petrobras, has paralyzed the production of a Catalytic Cracking unit, the U-220 , due to lack of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) flow. The union also points out that in five days, Replan has stopped producing approximately 11.000 cubic meters of LPG and 75 million liters of gasoline. See also: To adapt and modernize the Paulínia Refinery, Petrobras opens a bidding process for equipment

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Reason for suspending production at the unit at the Petrobras refinery

According to a Replan operator, who preferred not to be identified to Sidipetro, the stoppage of production at the Petrobras refinery unit was a government decision to zero the Import Tax on polypropylene resin in early April. Prepared by the Executive Management Committee (Gecex), linked to the Ministry of Economy, the measure stipulated a quota of 77 thousand tons of the product, which is the raw material used in the production of protective masks against Sars-Cov-2, a virus cause of Covid-19.

Entretanto, tal medida afetou diretamente a Braskem, petroquímica controlada pela Odebrecht e também pela Petrobras, que produz o polipropileno. Como reação em ******, a Petrobras também foi afetada, por ser a fornecedora do propeno, insumo utilizado na fabricação do polipropileno. Por isso, o propeno foi incorporado ao GLP, que não encontrou logística de escoamento.

Risks with stoppage in refinery production

Another operator, heard by the Sindipetro report, drew attention to the increased probability of accidents. According to the operator, the Petrobras refinery units are designed to operate uninterruptedly and, therefore, stoppages multiply the risks of leaks, fires and failures in the structures. The vast majority of major leaks and tragedies occur at times when the operating plants are under intervention or outside the normal operating regime, says the operator.

The oil tanker reports the unprecedented nature of the situation, as, according to him, a stoppage like this, according to the most senior employees, has never occurred before. The worker at the Petrobras refinery also pointed out that Replan has a vast park of storage spheres.

See also: The Petrobras refineries that will not be sold will receive investments of US$ 300 million by 2025

Petrobras announced that it intends to invest around US$ 300 million in refineries that are not in the divestment plans. The state-owned company's announcement was made on May 24, and the main objective of the investments is to increase the efficiency and performance of the assets. The Petrobras refineries, which will receive the investments, are Presidente Bernardes, Duque de Caxias, Capuava, Paulínia and Henrique Lage, all of them distributed in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Petrobras announced a program called RefTOP – World Class Refining, which aims to be among the best oil refineries in the world. This program is part of Petrobras' 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, with a contribution of US$ 3,7 billion, of which US$ 300 million will be allocated to refineries.