Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4 -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has signed five contracts, valued at $5.165 billion, for the planned 230,000-b/d Abreu e Lima refinery, a joint venture with Petroleos de Venezuela SA (OGJ, Nov. 9, 2009, Newsletter).
The signing of the contracts coincided with a statement by Petrobras supply director Paulo Roberto Costa that the refinery will cost 23 billion reais—more than triple its previous estimate.
Costa also said the expected start-up date had been delayed to April 2012 from March 2011.
Petrobras and PDVSA completed negotiations for joint construction and operation of the refinery, in Brazil's Pernambuco state, last month. They said they will incorporate the company in Brazil.
Petrobras said the largest of the new contracts, valued at 3.4 billion reais, is for construction services for two delayed coking units and related facilities. It went to combine of Construcoes e Comercio Camargo Correa SA and CNEC Engenharia SA.
A combine of Odebrecht Plantas Industriais e Participacoes SA and Construtora OAS Ltda. received a 3.19-billion real contract covering diesel and naphtha hydrotreaters and hydrogen units.
A contract valued at 1.48 billion reais for construction of two atmospheric distillation units went to the Odebrecth-Construtora combine.
A fourth contract, valued at 649 million reais, was signed with a combine of Cia. Nacional de Dutos and Egesa Engenharia SA for work related to product receipt and shipment pipelines.
The other contract is for civil infrastructure services. Valued at 120 million reais, it went to a combine of Construcap CCPS Engenharia e Comercio SA and Projetos Gerenciamento e Engenharia Ltda.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
Photo from ExxonMobil Corp.
Photo from Sonangol EP.
