By Brazil Stock Guide – Acelen, an energy company controlled by Mubadala Capital, plans new investments to expand diesel production capacity at its Mataripe refinery after an operational efficiency program generated US$191.6 million in cumulative benefits between 2022 and 2025, according to the company’s 2025 Sustainability Report.
The Profit Improvement Program, known as PIP, delivered gains equivalent to US$2.17 per barrel through initiatives focused on higher productivity, lower fuel and energy consumption, logistics improvements, digitalization, automation and reductions in emissions and other environmental impacts.
Acelen said it intends to continue applying the methodology developed under the program and move forward with additional projects. Planned investments include new equipment to expand diesel production capacity, as well as initiatives to recover process gases and reduce emissions.
The expansion plans follow a record year for the refinery. Mataripe processed 95.1 million barrels of crude oil in 2025, the highest volume since Acelen took over the asset in 2021, with an overall utilization rate of 86%. EBITDA rose 12% to a record US$504 million. Total costs fell 12% to US$776 million, while processing costs declined to US$8.10 per barrel from US$9.80.
The reduction in costs was driven by improved energy efficiency, better utilization of the industrial complex, lower demurrage expenses, fewer ship-to-ship transfers following the dredging of the Madre de Deus marine terminal and the optimization of fixed and operating costs.
The dredging of the access channel allowed the terminal to receive large vessels directly, including Suezmax tankers, eliminating the need for offshore crude transfers and reducing logistics costs.
Expanding diesel production has become increasingly important as Brazil remains dependent on imported fuel. Acelen said the country imported 17.1 billion liters of diesel in 2025, nearly 20% more than in the previous year.
Located in the northeastern state of Bahia, the Mataripe refinery has installed capacity to process as much as 302,000 barrels of crude oil per day and accounts for about 14% of Brazil’s refining capacity. Formerly known as the Landulpho Alves refinery, or RLAM, the facility was sold by state-controlled Petrobras in 2021 as part of its divestment program and a broader effort to open Brazil’s refining market to private competition — a strategy that has since been halted under the current administration.
The upgrades to Acelen’s conventional refining operations come as the group prepares a new growth platform in renewable fuels. Acelen Renováveis began developing an integrated biorefinery in Bahia in 2026 that will use macaúba palm among its main feedstocks to produce sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, and renewable diesel.
The project is expected to require approximately US$3 billion in investment and have the capacity to produce about 1 billion liters of SAF and renewable diesel annually. It also includes an agricultural supply chain for growing and processing macaúba on degraded pastureland in Bahia and Minas Gerais.
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