The state-owned oil company structured the project across 11 separate contract lots, generating approximately R$620 million in savings compared to initial estimates. Awarded contractors include ETC Empreendimentos e Tecnologia em Construção, Engeko Engenharia, the Enfil/Carioca consortium, Nova Engevix Engenharia e Projetos, the Monto Industrial/Mendes Júnior consortium, and a Nova Engevix-PowerChina partnership. The Petrobras board approved the restart in April 2026 following technical and economic viability studies demonstrating project feasibility.
When operational in 2029, UFN-III will produce 3,600 tons of granulated urea and 2,200 tons of ammonia daily, totaling approximately 1.3 million tons of urea annually. This output represents 15-16% of Brazil’s national urea demand, which currently stands at 8 million tons per year. The Centro-Oeste region accounts for 40% of Brazilian urea consumption, driven primarily by corn, sugarcane, cotton, and pasture cultivation. The facility’s strategic location reduces logistics costs for agricultural producers across Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Paraná, and São Paulo.
The project will generate approximately 8,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction. Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard announced the Autonomia e Renda program expansion, offering 1,400 training positions in Três Lagoas through partnerships with SESI-SENAI and federal technical institutes. The program targets workers requiring only fifth-grade education for initial training courses and high school completion for technical certifications.
Petrobras previously attempted to divest the incomplete facility between 2015 and 2022 during an asset-sale strategy period, but negotiations with private companies failed to materialize. The current government integrated UFN-III into the Novo PAC infrastructure program alongside three other fertilizer units: Fafen-BA, Fafen-SE, and ANSA. Combined operations of these four facilities aim to supply 35% of Brazil’s urea market by 2029, reducing complete import dependency that existed before the restart initiative.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
