Page 16 - LatAmOil Week 27

LatAmOil BRAZIL LatAmOil

Brazil increased oil output by 7.8% in 2019

OIL output in Brazil increased by 7.8% in 2019 of 3.17mn bpd in January, dropped to 2.97mn
compared with the previous year, reaching an bpd in February, remained steady at 2.97 bpd in
average of 2.8mn barrels per day (bpd), accord- March and dropped slightly to 2.96mn bpd in
ing to new state statistics. April. The April figure was up by 13.6% year on
Production from pre-salt deposits accounted year, despite the decline in demand stemming
for 62.3% of the country’s total crude output, from the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
according to the figures from the state-run Unlike its regional peers Mexico, Colom-
National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and bia and Ecuador, which produce lower-quality
Biofuels (ANP). Meanwhile, petroleum exports crudes that have more limited markets, Brazil
also reached record highs in 2019, averaging extracts oil that can be sold to a broad range of
1.2mn bpd, according to the agency. customers. Additionally, most Brazilian grades
ANP data also show that Brazil’s natural gas can easily be made into marine fuels that have
output grew for the 10th year in a row last year. very low sulphur content. As a result, the coun-
Output was reported up by 9.5% in 2019 com- try has benefited from the introduction of new
pared with the previous year, averaging 123mn International Marine Organisation (IMO) spec-
cubic metres per day (or 44.895bn cubic metres ifications capping sulphur content at 0.5%.
for the whole year). Pre-salt deposits made up State-run Petrobras has also had the advan-
57.9% of the country’s total gas output last year. tage of seeing sales to China, one of its biggest
According to previously released ANP crude markets, rise. As the East Asian state has
figures, the South American country saw oil recovered from the initial wave of the coronavi-
production average 3.02mn bpd in the first rus (COVID-19) pandemic and brought facto-
four months of the year. It hit an all-time high ries online again, it has been buying more oil. ™

URUGUAY
ANCAP in refinery upgrade deal with KBR

URUGUAY’S state-owned oil company Admin- ANCAP has not disclosed many details
istración Nacional de Combustibles Alcohol y about its strategic upgrade plan for La Teja,
Pórtland (ANCAP) has signed a new contract Uruguay’s only refinery. The company said last
with the US engineering and construction firm year, though, that it intended to carry out mod-
KBR for a refinery upgrade project. ifications and equipment upgrades aimed at
Under the contract, Houston-based KBR optimising costs and improving efficiency and
will supply technology for a new unit that will environmental performance at the refinery’s
be built at ANCAP’s wholly owned, 50,000 bar- main processing units during its next planned
rel per day (bpd) Eduardo Acevedo Vázquez maintenance shutdown. This turnaround pro-
refining complex at La Teja, in the Bay of Mon- gramme is scheduled for 2023.
tevideo. Specifically, it will provide technology Uruguay is a latecomer to the oil and gas
licensing, basic engineering design and proprie- markets, as it launched its first oil and gas-licens-
tary equipment for a 6,000 barrel per stream day ing round just over a decade ago, in 2009. So far,
(BPSD) unit. though, it has attracted more than $1bn worth of
In a press statement, KBR said the project investment in exploration since then. ™
would give ANCAP more operational flexibil-
ity in changing market conditions. At the same
time, it said, the BPSD unit will allow the refin-
ery to reduce its environmental footprint by
turning out higher-quality and cleaner products.
“We are proud that KBR’s world-leading
residual oil solvent extraction (ROSE) technol-
ogy was selected by ANCAP for its integrated
refinery complex in Uruguay,” said Doug Kelly,
KBR’s president of technology solutions. “In
these challenging times, our process technol-
ogies continue to provide our clients with the
differentiation and competitive advantage they
need to adapt their businesses for the future.” Storage tanks at La Teja refinery (Photo: ANCAP)

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 09•July•2020