With the new program launched by Petrobras in June 2019, 3,4 million liters of fuel were no longer lost due to crimes

Petrobras reported last night (08/06) that it reduced by 31 percent the loss of fuel due to thefts in pipelines, in the first year of implementation of the Petrobras Integrated Program for Protection of Pipelines (Pró-Dutos). Petrobras decides to extend BW Offshore's FPSO Cidade de São Vicente contract

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With the new program launched by Petrobras in June 2019, 3,4 million liters of fuel were no longer lost due to crimes, which means less threat to those who live around the pipelines.

The reduction in lost fuel volumes maintains a downward trend in the first half of 2020, with a reduction of more than 30% in the monthly average of losses between 2019 and the first half of 2020.

As for the number of incidents of theft of oil and derivatives in pipelines, between 2018 and 2019, there was a 22% drop, from 261 to 203 cases of theft.

Until May of this year, Petrobras identified 101 occurrences of fuel theft. The state-owned company's goal is to reduce the incidence of this crime by 75% by the end of 2021, as well as, with integrated actions with the States and the Federal Government, seek to eliminate clandestine derivations in the near future.

In order to increase the safety of pipeline operations, Petrobras installed more than a hundred monitoring systems along the pipeline network to improve the perception and location of thefts.

“The 24-hour monitoring and adequate maintenance ensure that the pipelines are continuously operating within strict safety standards”, informed the state-owned company.

In April 2020, the operation of a new pipeline transport route for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was also started. The highly flammable product is no longer transported through densely populated areas in the metropolitan region of São Paulo to travel along the periphery of the urban core between the São Bernardo do Campo Pumping Station and the Capuava Refinery (Recap), reducing risks to the population.

Throughout the country, Transpetro, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrobras, operates 14.873 kilometers of pipelines that transport fuel. When there is no intervention by criminals, pipelines are the safest, fastest and most reliable option for transporting these products. The volume transported by this network of pipelines represents 20 tanker trucks, no longer traveling on the roads per day.

A measure supported by Petrobras and which is on the agenda in the National Congress is the toughening of the sentence for those who commit fuel theft, which is currently comparable to the common crime of theft.

However, although the transport of fuels through pipelines is safe and efficient, criminal interventions can have serious consequences for the community, such as fires, explosions, leaks, pollution and contamination of environmentally sensitive areas.

Petrobras together with the Population

Another important front of the program is public awareness of the risks caused by theft in pipelines. Through a campaign developed at Pró-Dutos, the population was encouraged to collaborate through the telephone number 168, which receives complaints about criminal activities in the pipelines. There was a 60% increase in qualified alerts registered on channel 168 in 2019.

The social emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the launch of a social project in 12 underprivileged communities located close to the company's pipelines. The project provides for the distribution, over a period of three months, of 63 basic food baskets to families affected by the pandemic.