Petrobras to build second refinery

Petrobras CEO Graca Foster confirmed that the company will proceed with the construction of the Premium II refinery in Ceara state, Northeast Brazil. “To reach the balance between fuel supply and demand in the internal market is a constant search for the company, and because of this we count on the construction of Premium II,” Foster said. The confirmation follows the announcement that Petrobras will proceed with plans to build the Premium I refinery in Maranhao state. The Premium I and Premium II refineries were included in last year’s 2011-2015 business plan, although they were not emphasized in the 2012-2016 plan. Premium ll refinery will be built in Caucaia, in the industrial complex of Pecem Port, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Fortaleza and will have a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels a day, 65% of which will be allocated for diesel fuel. The refinery is scheduled to begin operations between the end of 2017 and mid-2018. Petrobras exports oil but imports gasoline and diesel fuel to meet demand due to a shortage of refining capacity. Brazil’s 12 refineries have a combined capacity of about 2 million barrels per day, and domestic fuel demand is expected to reach 3.4 million barrels a day by 2020. (July 11, 2012)