By Brazil Stock Guide – Acelen, an energy company backed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital, said artificial intelligence, industrial automation and other digital projects have generated more than R$ 380 million in operational benefits at its Mataripe refinery in Bahia, northeastern Brazil, over the past four years.
The projects are part of a nearly R$ 4 billion modernization program launched after Acelen acquired the former Landulpho Alves refinery from state-controlled Petrobras in late 2021. The company said the investments have improved efficiency, safety and reliability at the facility.
The largest contribution came from CatalyzeAI, a system that monitors the performance of the catalysts used in the refining process. Acelen estimates that the technology generated R$ 300 million in economic benefits in 2024 and 2025.
The company has also deployed AI-based monitoring across more than 1,100 pieces of equipment. The system cut corrective maintenance work by 53% and extended the average time between failures to more than 830 days, according to Acelen.
Other initiatives include digital twins that track energy consumption and emissions in real time. The technology has the potential to reduce energy costs by about R$ 15 million a year, the company said.
Computer-vision systems are being used to detect leaks up to nine times faster and could prevent the loss of as much as 13,500 metric tons of steam annually. Acelen has also deployed drones, robots and thermal-imaging technology for industrial inspections, reducing workers’ exposure to confined spaces by 60% and increasing plant availability by 44%.
“Artificial intelligence is already part of the refinery’s daily operations and is helping improve efficiency, safety and operational reliability,” Celso Ferreira, Acelen’s vice president of operations, said in a statement.
Acelen has also launched AcelenGPT, an internal generative AI platform used by more than 1,000 employees for data analysis, productivity tasks and the development of specialized digital assistants.
Acelen is expanding beyond oil refining into renewable energy. The company has opened a 161-megawatt solar plant in Bahia and is developing a project to produce sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel from macaúba, an oil-rich palm native to Brazil.
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