Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras will resume construction of its nitrogen-based fertilizer unit UFN-III in Tres Lagoas, in central-western Mato Grosso do Sul state.
Petrobras' board of directors approved the restart of construction today. The unit — halted in 2014 — is 81pc complete and was initially scheduled to start operating in 2015. The company expects to invest R3.5bn ($614mn) to conclude the unit, whose operations may start in 2028. Petrobras will now start a process to contract third parties to resume building works.
The announcement comes after Petrobras started a binding phase for the sale of the unit in August 2022, following a potential sale of the asset that was canceled in April 2022.
The decision is in line with the company's five-year strategic plan, which foresees increasing investments in the fertilizer sector.
Petrobras announced in August investments of $159mn to restart its Araucaria Nitrogenados fertilizer unit. It also signed an agreement with Norway-based global fertilizer producer Yara to consider a potential partnership in Brazil's fertilizer sector and another agreement with Brazil's agriculture research center Embrapa to study the development of renewable feedstock for lower-carbon products such as fertilizers and biofuels.
