World Energy Outlook 2006

Figure 16.10: Brazil’s Crude Oil Production by Source in the Reference Scenario
mb/d
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
Currently producing fields
Reserve additions and new discoveries
Fields awaiting development
Total production
Any expansion of refining capacity must conform to the government’s refining
plan, which aims to minimise oil-product imports. A key element of this plan
is the use of vegetable oil to replace fossil diesel (Box 16.3). The major focus of
Box 16.3: Refinery Conversion with H-BIO Technology
Brazil has undertaken a major initiative to supplement fossil diesel with
diesel produced from biomass. In the H-BIO process, vegetable oil is
blended with mineral diesel fractions in hydrotreating units. Today, these
units are mainly used to reduce the sulphur content of diesel and for quality
improvement in petroleum refineries. The most important aspect of the
H-BIO process is its very high conversion yield. The converted product
improves the quality of diesel in the refinery, mainly by increasing the
cetane number and by reducing the sulphur content and density.
Petrobras plans to have the H-BIO process operating in at least three
refineries by the end of 2007. Vegetable oil consumption will be about
256 000 m 3 per year, which was about 10% of Brazilian soybean oil exports
in 2005. Introduction of the H-BIO process in two more Petrobras
refineries is planned for 2008, which will increase the total vegetable oil
consumption to about 425 000 m 3 per year. These two programmes will
require investments of around $60 million.
470 World Energy Outlook 2006 - FOCUS ON KEY TOPICS