Petrobras expects to make a final decision on its Araucária Nitrogenados (ANSA) fertilizer factory, in Paraná, in mid-2024, with plans to have the facility back in operation in mid-2025, according to Petrobras Director of Industrial Processes William Franca, as reported by Istoe Dinheira.
Speaking to journalists at a recent seminar, Franca said the project is advanced and should not face any difficulties. Petrobras’s Executive Board approved initial steps for the reactivation of the fully-owned ANSA in April (GM April 19, p.1). The company said last August that it was in the final stages of studies for the resumption of production at the plant (GM Aug. 18, 2023).
The plant has been dormant since 2020 (GM Jan. 17, 2020). At the time, Petrobras said it was mothballing the facility due to recurring losses and a failure to find a buyer. The plant has a production capacity of 720,000 mt/y of urea and 475,000 mt/y of ammonia, as well as 450,000 cubic meters per year of ARLA 32.
Petrobras also owns a partially completed nitrogen fertilizer complex, Unidade de Fertilizantes Nitrogenados III (UFN-III), in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul state. It also owns plants at Bahia (Fafen-BA) and Sergipe (Fafen-SE) that it leased to Unigel (GM Aug. 14, 2020), which are currently not in operation due to market conditions.