Brazil’s Acelen investing in refinery modernization

Brazil’s Acelen is investing in the modernization of the Mataripe refinery in Bahia state, COO Celso Ferreira told BNamericas. 

Among the initiatives being carried out by the Mubadala Capital’s subsidiary is the expansion of the plant's digital transformation programs, focused on loss prevention and operational continuity, and projects to increase energy efficiency. 

Ferreira highlighted the recent completion of the debottlenecking of the diesel unit, where production has increased 13% since November 2021, when the company took control of the refinery that previously belonged to federal oil company Petrobras. 

According to Ferreira, the main works are related to boosting the operational efficiency of the refinery. 

"Mataripe will now operate with an optimized raw material and product mix with greater added value, in a more efficient and competitive way, impacted by greater reliability and rationalized energy costs, and more sustainable with the integration of the recently approved solar energy project,” he said.

The solar undertaking is the result of a joint venture formed in July with Perfin Infra Administração de Recursos and Illian Energias Renováveis. Together, the companies will invest in a 161MW complex that will meet Mataripe's demand for electricity from the third quarter of 2025.  

Included in the federal government's growth acceleration program (PAC), the project will require around 530mn reais (US$96mn) in investment, 418mn reais in the form of non-recourse project finance in US dollars from development bank BNDES. 

Since taking over the plant, Acelen has invested more than 2bn reais in revitalizing and restoring the refinery. 

Projects already deployed include an operational excellence program that has reduced waste generation by around 30% with internal and external reuse and the installation of an integrated maintenance center that should save 15mn reais in one year. 

Acelen has also launched an environmental patrol app, which allows technicians to identify and report possible risks in industrial areas in real time. 

PARTNERSHIP WITH PETROBRAS

Last December, Mubadala submitted to Petrobras a proposal to form a partnership to develop the refining and biorefining sector, with possible investment by the state-run oil giant in the Mataripe plant. 

The proposal also envisaged a greenfield project to develop a fully integrated biorefinery in Bahia and another in Minas Gerais state focused on the production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel from crops native to Brazil.

Since then, there has been talk of Petrobras retaking control of the Mataripe refinery, which is a request of Brazil’s oil workers' union FUP – an important political ally of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

However, at a press conference in August, Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard said Mataripe was not a priority for the company. 

In a statement sent to BNamericas, Acelen said it does not comment on matters that fall within the sphere of its shareholders and investors.