Page 10 - LatAmOil Week 37 2022

LatAmOil BRAZIL LatAmOil

UFN-III, shown under construction, is set to begin operating in two or three years (Photo: Semagro.ms.gov.br)
Once this milestone is reached, the deal will be company not be given the green light, Bra-
concluded within a matter of weeks, they said. zil’s Unigel group and the steelmaker CSN are
Petrobras has stated publicly that a deal is among the competitors who are likely to attempt
not yet “imminent” and that the sale process to swoop in on the deal.
remains in the binding phase. Yara, for its part, UFN-III is expected to become a lucrative
has also declined to comment publicly on the asset for any buyer, as Brazil is aiming to shed
matter. its dependency on fertiliser imports. The facil-
The NOC has been looking to sell UFN-III ity is set to begin operating within the next two
for some time. It agreed in February to sell it to to three years. Once it comes on stream, UFN-
Russian group Acron; however, the deal col- III is anticipated to have a production capacity
lapsed. Petrobras resumed its sale effort in May. of 2,200 tonnes per day of ammonia and 3,600
UFN-III is based in Mato Grosso do Sul tpd of urea. Once urea output reaches this level,
State, one of Brazil’s largest grain production it will account for 20% of all urea production
hubs. The unit is expected to be an ideal stra- across the country.
tegic purchase for Yara International, which The fertiliser plant will use natural gas as a
already owns five plants in Brazil and 25 mixing raw material. Petrobras is expected to offer the
facilities. eventual buyer an option to purchase the unit
Should the deal with the Norwegian with a gas supply contract. ™

Lula reportedly mulling proposals

for reversing refinery privatisation

ADVISORS to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the board seats for government representatives.
top-polling candidate in Brazil’s upcoming pres- None of the contracts that Petrobras has signed
idential election, have mooted the idea of revers- thus far on the sale of its refineries addresses the
ing the privatisation of refineries previously question of the right to appoint a state or NOC
owned by the national oil company (NOC) representative to the plants’ boards of directors
Petrobras, Reuters reported last week. or otherwise secure influence over refinery
Lula has already said that he does not favour operations, Reuters’ sources noted.
the sale of Petrobras’ downstream assets, and And for its part, Lula’s Workers Party has not
now his team may be taking the matter further. sought to actively breach or circumvent existing
Three sources with knowledge of the subject told contracts.
Reuters that some of the candidate’s advisors had For the moment, the question remains
suggested buying back the refineries or securing purely theoretical. The news agency’s sources,
the right to appoint directors to the newly inde- who spoke on condition of anonymity due to
pendent plants’ boards. the sensitivity of the subject, stressed that Lula’s
It is not exactly clear how such goals might supporters had not yet contacted any of the pri-
be achieved, especially with respect to reserving vatised refineries to discuss the matter.

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