Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras halted fertilizer production at two of its recently-restarted units, the firm told Argus.
The Araucaria Nitrogenados (Ansa) unit, in southern Parana state, has been halted since 30 April because of an "incident in the compressor room", Petrobras told Argus. The company said that ammonia sales have continued as usual and the timeframe for the fertilizer resumption "will be disclosed in due course".
Ansa's operations had started on the same day after being shut since 2020. Ansa has production capacity of 720,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr of urea, 475,000 t/yr of ammonia, and 450,000 m³/yr of Arla 32, a heavy vehicle emissions-control product also known as AdBlue in Europe and DEF in the US.
Operations are also halted at the Fabrica de Fertilizantes Nitrogenados (Fafen) unit, in northeastern Sergipe state, because a lack of power supply that damaged the unit's operational system. The damage will require maintenance and Petrobras expects operations to resume this month.
Supplies were uninterrupted thanks to "existing factory inventories", Petrobras said. The company also highlighted that Brazil is in its offseason for urea purchases and that farmers are awaiting developments in the war in the Middle East, meaning domestic demand is reduced.
Petrobras did not disclose for how long Fafen has been halted, but said that it was "producing continuously" before the power supply issue. It was operating at 90pc of its maximum capacity in early March, which amounts to 1,800 t/d of urea, Petrobras told Argus at that time.
Fafen Sergipe restarted ammonia production on 31 December, marking the resumption of operations, Petrobras' chief executive Magda Chambriard said on social media in early January. The unit can produce up to 650,000 t/yr of urea, 450,000 t/yr of ammonia and 320,000 t/yr of ammonium sulphate.
Fafen Bahia
Another Fafen unit, in northeastern Bahia state, recently reduced output to enable maintenance in its pumping system, but production has since increased.
Petrobras did not disclose the unit's current production rate. Petrobras estimates that the return of Fafen Bahia and Sergipe allowed the company to meet approximately 10pc of Brazil's urea market in the first quarter of 2026.
All three units — Fafen Bahia, Fafen Sergipe and Ansa — went through "periods of hibernation", Petrobras said, alluding to the units' long periods of idleness. That led to degradation, the need for investment, and "as expected, required maintenance to improve reliability and operational continuity", Petrobras added.
Petrobras halted activities at Ansa in 2020, following previous plans announced in 2017, which consisted of fully exiting non-strategic sectors, including fertilizers. Operations in Fafen Sergipe and Bahia had been idled since March 2024, when both were managed by the Brazilian chemical company Unigel.
The decision to resume fertilizer operations is in line with Petrobras' strategic plan and Brazil's government national fertilizer plan, which aims to reduce the country's dependency on imports.
Brazil consumed more than 49.1mn t of fertilizer in 2025, of which 88pc was imported, according to national fertilizer distributor's association Anda.
