Petrobras announced that it has set a new record for the export of fuel oils. In February, the company reached the mark of 238 thousand barrels exported per day and exceeded one million tons this month. Petrobras claims that the new global specification for marine fuels (IMO 2020), which reduced the sulfur content limit in fuel oil from 3.5% to 0.5% as of January this year, has created a unique opportunity because , both oil and fuel oil produced by the company have a low sulfur content. Oil exports also remain at high levels, with volumes exceeding 690 thousand barrels per day exported in February. Since when it started to adapt the refineries for the production of VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil), in April 2019, Petrobras has produced more than 3.5 million tons of bunker and low sulfur fuel oil. From October to January 2020, the company delivered approximately 1.5 million tons of VLSFO to supply ships in Brazilian ports. In addition to Santos, Petrobras sells bunker at the ports of Rio Grande, Paranaguá, São Sebastião, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Vitória, Salvador, Fortaleza, São Luís, Belém and Manaus. Petrobras stressed that the largest export occurred in a challenging period for the global economy, due to the outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19), which restricted demand in Asia, the main destination for the company’s exports. With this, new flows were adjusted, with an increase in the destination of petroleum and fuel oils to markets such as the Caribbean, the United States and Europe. “It is important to highlight that it is not yet possible to safely estimate all the impacts that the company may suffer in relation to its operations and results, in view of the developments related to the Covid-19 outbreak in the global economy”, he stressed in a note.
Source: Portos e Navios