Petrobras informs that it hired the French firm, Axens (of the French Petroleum Institute group), to reduce the sulphur content of its gasoline and thus improve the quality of the fuel.
The contract, which was signed today, foresees the construction of ten sulphur reduction units in eight Brazilian refineries, by 2009.
The total capacity of the project will enable 50 million liters of gasoline to be processed daily. Fuel is currently permitted to contain a sulphur content of one thousand parts per million.
When the units are fully operational, it will be possible to attain contents of fewer than 50 parts per million. Moreover, the fuel improvement will lower the volume of pollutent gases released by cars into the atmosphere.
Libya Drill
Petrobras expects to sign a contract this month to drill for oil in a Libyan oil field known as Area 18, located in the Mediterranean Sea.
The project will be carried out in partnership with the Oil Search Limited company, and the oil that is produced will be divided with the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC).
This information was released February 1st by the Brazilian company, and, according to the terms of the contract, Petrobras will be entitled to exploit Area 18 for five years, during which time it expects to invest at least US$ 21 million.
Area 18 is made up of four blocks off Libya’s northwestern coast and covers a total area of 10,307 square kilometers.
The sea depth in the area ranges from 200 to 700 meters. Petrobras already operates in three other African countries: Angola, Nigeria, and Tanzania.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil