Petrobras Biofuels marked three years of existence Friday with a 10-fold increase in production, with annual capacity of 1.7 billions liter/year, up from 170 million liters in 2008, the company said Friday.
Growth was helped by the recent acquisition of 50% of the Passo Fundo ethanol plant and expansion of the Usina de Candeias plant in Bahia which now has a production capacity of 217.2 million liters/year, Petrobras Biofuels said in a statement.
A new plant is planned in Colina, Sao Paulo state, in partnership with ethanol producer Guarani and plants in Bambui, Minas Gerais state, and Nova Fronteira, Goias state, are being expanded.
Petrobras Biofuels is also involved in green diesel production from palm oil in the state of Para, where 4,000 hectares have been planted.
"We have a relevant participation in this period towards a cleaner energy matrix and a low carbon economy," said company President Miguel Rossetto. "This has strengthened the Petrobras strategy to consolidate itself as one of the worlds biggest energy companies."
