Petrobras makes second attempt to sell fertilizer plant

Brazil state-run oil firm Petrobras has launched a new process to sell the UFN-III urea project being built in the city of Três Lagoas in Mato Grosso do Sul state.   

UFN-III (pictured) is expected to produce up to 3,600t/d of urea and 2,200t/d of ammonia. The buyer will be responsible for concluding the works, which are currently 81% complete, Petrobras said.  

This is the second time the company has tried to sell the unit, as part of its US$20-30bn divestment program set out for 2020-24. The first sale process began in 2017 but it was interrupted last year. 

In 2018, Petrobras began exclusive negotiations over the unit with Russian firm Acron, but the talks were unsuccessful and were eventually halted after political turbulence following the resignation of Evo Morales as president in Bolivia, which is supposed to supply the natural gas for the project.