By Brazil Stock Guide – Petrobras (PETR4.SA) has resumed urea production at its Araucária Nitrogenados S.A. (Ansa) facility in southern Brazil, marking a key step in the company’s return to the fertilizer market after a four-year shutdown.
The unit, located in Paraná state, had been idle since 2020 and required 870 million reais ($170 million) in investments to restart operations. The relaunch follows a preparation cycle that began in 2024, including maintenance, inspections, operational testing and workforce rebuilding.
The Ansa restart adds to Petrobras’ broader push into fertilizers, following the reactivation of its Sergipe (Fafen-SE) plant in December 2025 and its Bahia (Fafen-BA) facility in January 2026. Combined output from the three units is expected to account for about 20% of Brazil’s domestic urea market.
Petrobras is also advancing construction of its UFN-III fertilizer plant in Mato Grosso do Sul, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2029. The company estimates that the new facility could raise its market share to around 35% in the coming years.
“With the Fafens and now Ansa fully operational, we are reducing dependence on imported urea and strengthening the domestic agribusiness and industrial supply chain,” said William França, Petrobras’ director of industrial processes. “Fertilizers are a strategic sector for Petrobras, and we are resuming investments based on technical and economic feasibility studies.”
The Ansa facility, located near the Repar refinery, has capacity to produce 720,000 metric tons of urea annually, equivalent to roughly 8% of Brazil’s consumption. It can also produce 475,000 tons of ammonia and 450,000 cubic meters of ARLA 32, a diesel emissions control agent.
The restart generated more than 2,000 jobs during the preparation phase, while the plant maintains around 700 direct positions in regular operations.
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