Petrobras received a favorable court ruling allowing it to idle a fertilizer plant in Bahia, the Brazilian state energy producer said on Thursday.
In February, Petrobras announced the decision to mothball two fertilizer plants in Bahia and Sergipe, but the SINPEQ (Sindicato das Indústrias de Produtos Quimicos para Fins Industriais, Petroquimicas e Resinas Sintéticas de Camaçari, Candeias e Dias D’Ávila) union group challenged the Bahia shutdown.
The reversal of the injunction decision allows Petrobras to enact plans to mothball the Bahia plant.
The company said on Thursday that both the Bahia plant and the Sergpipe plant bidding process are underway.
The plant in Bahia, which started its operations in 1970, produces 1,300 tons of urea per day and 1,300 tons of ammonia per day, Petrobras said. The plant also produces exhaust fluid from diesel. The Sergipe plant was inaugurated in 1982. It can produce 1,800 tons of urea per day, 1,250 tons of ammonia per day, 875 tons of ammonium sulfate per day, and 96 tons of carbon dioxide per day.