Brazil Signs Contracts to Restart Petrobras UFN‑III Fertilizer Plant

Overview

• The Presidency and Petrobras formally signed contracts to resume work on the UFN‑III plant in Três Lagoas on Thursday, marking the start of contractor mobilization after the project was paused for more than a decade.
• Petrobras says the plant was about 85% complete when halted and that finishing construction will require just over R$5 billion in new investment with commercial operation targeted for 2029.
• When operating at planned capacity the UFN‑III is expected to produce roughly 3,600 tonnes of urea and 2,200 tonnes of ammonia per day, equal to about 1.2–1.3 million tonnes of urea a year or roughly 15–16% of national urea demand.
• The company is studying a proposal to duplicate capacity across its fertilizer units but officials stress those expansion plans are under technical and economic review and have not been approved.
• UFN‑III will depend on large supplies of natural gas and access to the Brasil–Bolívia pipeline, and Petrobras projects the project plus other state plants will create thousands of jobs and could help reduce Brazil’s heavy reliance on imported fertilizers.