Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras boosted average refinery utilization to around 66pc on 7-11 May, from 52pc in mid-April, according to data from Brazil's mines and energy ministry.
In separate earnings calls yesterday, two other state-controlled oil companies in Latin America, Argentina's YPF and Colombia's Ecopetrol, confirmed a partial revival of refinery operations as well.
The comeback reflects a gradual recovery in fuel demand as governments start to ease pandemic-related lockdowns.
LPG is driving part of the rebound. Petrobras said today its 239,000 b/d Duque de Caxias refinery in Rio de Janeiro state set an LPG sales record of 90,306 tons in April, a 3.5pc increase over March.
In several countries such as Brazil and India, LPG has been an outlier in products demand that otherwise crumbled since March, as people under lockdown use more of the fuel for cooking.
Petrobras produced around 122,000 b/d of LPG in March, down by 5.3pc from February. The company increased LPG imports through April, but is now pivoting to domestic production.
Other refineries, such as 46,000 b/d Isaac Sabba in Amazonas state and 323,000 b/d Landulpho Alves in Bahia state, have cut runs and idled cracking units.
Gasoline and diesel demand is expected to slowly increase in the coming months as some Brazilian states start to ease pandemic restrictions.
Petrobras is Latin America's top refiner, with 2.2mn b/d of capacity across 13 refineries in Brazil.
