Petrobras to ready new plans for Comperj petrochemical refinery soon

19-Jan-10

Brazil’s state-run energy giant Petrobras’ new plans for the Comperj petrochemical refinery are slated to be ready this week, and will be forwarded to the board for approval at its next meeting. Petrobras plans to change the scope of the Comperj complex to include fuel processing, envisioning a module that will be devoted to producing diesel oil from heavy oil. Since it encountered problems finding partners for the project, the Brazilian major was forced to consider the shift. It was originally estimated to process 150,000 bpd of heavy oil from the Campos Basin and have petrochemicals output including polyethylene, polypropylene, PTA, PET, ethylene glycol and styrene, along with petroleum coke, sulfur, heavy naphtha and benzene, as well as diesel oil and petrochemicals feedstock. Comperj was originally designed as a US$8.5 bln petrochemicals plant and was expected to commence operations in 2012. It was part of Petrobras's US$174.4 bln, 5 year investment plan announced in January 2009, which included five new refineries to boost output.