Petrobras, Transpetro Sign R$2.9 Billion Fleet Orders to Triple GLP Capacity

Overview

• At a ceremony in Rio Grande attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the companies signed contracts for five gas carriers, 18 barges and 18 pushers to be built by Estaleiro Rio Grande (RS), Bertolini (AM) and Indústria Naval Catarinense (SC).
• Transpetro’s gas-carrier fleet will expand from six to 14 vessels, with the first delivery due in about 33 months and subsequent ships every six months, using designs that target about 20% lower energy use and 30% fewer greenhouse-gas emissions.
• The barges and pushers mark Transpetro’s entry into inland navigation to supply strategic hubs including Belém, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranaguá and Rio Grande.
• The orders sit within Programa Mar Aberto, which outlines roughly US$6 billion (about R$32 billion) through 2030 to build 20 cabotage vessels and charter 40 new offshore support ships.
• Separately, Petrobras announced a R$6 billion conversion of the Riograndense refinery into what it says will be Brazil’s first biorrefinery starting in the second half of 2026.