Petrobras to Expand Duque de Caixas Lubricants Plant

Brazilian fuel distribution company Petrobras Distribuidora SA, a subsidiary of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), said in a securities filing last Thursday it will expand its Duque de Caixas lubricants plant, located in Rio de Janeiro. The company said it will increase production capacity at that plant by 55 percent to 42 million liters per year.

The company's flagship line of lubricants is its LUBRAX line, which includes passenger car (including synthetics), commercial vehicle, heavy construction, industrial, marine, aviation, and agricultural lubricants.

Petrobras Distribuidora is also part owner of a used oil regeneration/recycling plant, on land adjacent to Petrobras’ Duque de Caxias refinery. The installation has a capacity to treat 30,000 tons of used oil per year, producing over 20,000 tons of base oils per year which is reused by Petrobras Distribuidora to formulate lubricants in its adjacent facilities.

The Petrobras Refinaria Duque de Caxias (REDUC) also produces API Group I lube base oil with a production capacity of 11,200 barrels per day.

Petrobras Distribuidora recorded R $ 1.15 billion (US$ 344 million) in net income in 2017, reversing a loss of R $ 315 million in the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2017, net income reached R $ 531 million - compared to R $ 52 million in the same period of 2016.

Parent company Petrobras posted a R$446 (US$135.8) million loss in 2017, it's smallest loss in the last four years. The company would have made net earnings of R$7.089 billion, but one-off expenses, in particular a R$11.198 billion deal to end a class action filed by investors in the United States, and participation in federal tax settlement programs, which amounted to R$10.433 billion. Operating income more than doubled between 2016 and 2017, to R$35.624 billion.