Brazil’s Petrobras has launched tenders to build a lubricants plant at the Gaslub hub, in Itaboraí, Rio de Janeiro.
The project represents another milestone in the federal oil company’s strategic redirection following the arrival of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president in January 2023.
The tenders are for the contracting of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for hydrotreating (HDT), catalytic hydrocracking (HCC), acid water treatment (UTAA) and regenerative caustic treatment (UTCR) units, and hydrogen generation and ammonia energy recovery (URE-MDEA-ammonia-tail gas).
The bidding documents are available on Petrobras’ procurement portal Petronect under the identification numbers 7004269219, 7004269577, 7004269429 and 7004269503.
According to the oil giant, the purpose of the lubricants plant project is to enable Petrobras to produce group II quality lubricant base oils, replacing group I base oils.
Group II oils have fewer impurities and perform better than group I oils.
The initiative also aims to increase the yield of S-10 diesel and QAV-1 (aviation kerosene) in relation to the oil processed at the Duque de Caxias refinery (Reduc), minimizing the surplus of dark products, reducing the sulfur content generated at the refinery and adding value to the business.
According to oil and gas watchdog ANP, three refineries currently produce lubricants in Brazil: Reduc and Lubnor (Lubrificantes e Derivados do Nordeste), operated by Petrobras, and the Mataripe plant