A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Albemarle Corporation and Petrobras that will initiate the construction of a world scale hydroprocessing catalyst (HPC) production plant on their existing joint venture site at Fabrica Carioca de Catalisadores SA (FCC (News - Alert) SA) in Santa Cruz, Brazil. The existing production of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts will be further complemented by the construction of the new facility.

As Brazil begins to implement more stringent ultra low sulfur diesel specifications and as new hydrotreaters are being introduced by Petrobras to existing and new refineries over the coming years, the demand for hydroprocessing catalysts will grow significantly, which can be efficiently handled by the new plant.

To enable the broad implementation of the most stringent sulfur specification in fuels across North America, Western Europe and Japan, FCC SA will receive all the right resources and technology from Albemarle to enable manufacturing and production of HPC and STARS catalyst. The plant will basically serve the growing demands for HPC in South America.

In a press release, Paulo Roberto Costa, downstream director of Petrobras, said, "Petrobras is investing hard to improve the quality of its oil derived streams with the construction of new hydrotreating and hydroconversion units. Petrobras is increasingly making use of hydroprocessing catalysts and its future needs are going up by significant investments in new refining units. As an illustration of our catalysts demand, in 2016 it is expected to be five times higher than current consumption."

Moving forward into their partnership, Petrobras and Albemarle will also come together to drive the future development of advanced hydroprocessing catalysts which will reflect the same capabilities projected by the successful existing cooperation in the area of FCC catalysts.

In a statement, Mark Rohr, chairman and CEO of Albemarle Corporation, said, "The partnership between Petrobras and Albemarle in refinery catalysts has been truly unique and has generated significant value for both companies for over 25 years. This expansion into HPC takes our relationship with Petrobras to the next level and also allows us to combine the technological leadership of both companies to best provide South America with clean fuels meeting the highest standards."