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Mataripe Refinery | Source: Estadão (Mar 31, 2026)

The Mataripe Refinery (formerly RLAM – Refinaria Landulpho Alves) is located in São Francisco do Conde, Bahia, Brazil and is Brazil's second-largest refinery. Commissioned in 1950, it is also the country's oldest operating refinery, with over 75 years of continuous operation. It was sold by Petrobras to Mubadala Capital in November 2021 for USD 1.65 billion and renamed Mataripe upon handover to Acelen.

Capacity & Utilization

As of 2026, Acelen is investing BRL 736 million (~USD 143 million) this year alone in refinery upgrades, with a total planned investment of BRL 4 billion by 2030 focused on maintenance, safety, energy efficiency and decarbonization.

Process Units

The Mataripe Refinery operates a complex configuration with the following confirmed process units:

• Atmospheric Distillation Unit (ADU / CDU) — primary crude fractionation

• Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU) — secondary separation of heavy residues

• Catalytic Cracking Unit (CCU / FCC) — conversion of heavy gasoil to lighter products

• Hydrodesulfurization Unit (HDS) — fuel sulfur reduction for diesel/naphtha

• Hydrotreating Unit (DHTD) — distillate quality upgrading

• Hydrogen Generation Unit (HGU) — hydrogen production for treating units

• Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU) — elemental sulfur recovery from H₂S

• Lubricants and Paraffin Plant — production of lube base oils and waxes

Products

The refinery produces more than 31 distinct products, spanning:

• Transportation fuels: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel (QAV), LPG

• Industrial fuels: fuel oil, petcoke

• Specialty products: lubricants, paraffins, asphalt

• Petrochemical feedstocks supplied via pipeline to the Camaçari Petrochemical Complex

Logistics Infrastructure

The refinery's asset package includes substantial logistics assets:

• 4 storage terminals connected by pipeline

• 669 km of pipelines linking the refinery and terminals

• 4.1 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity

• 5.7 million barrels of products storage

• 400,000 barrels of LPG storage

• Connected to the Madre de Deus marine terminal via crude import pipeline

• ORSUB pipeline to Jequié and Itabuna terminals

• ORPENE pipelines connecting to Camaçari petrochemical complex

Strategic Context (2026)

As of April 2026, Petrobras is in preliminary talks to reacquire Mataripe from Mubadala, driven by the refinery operating at only ~60% utilization while Petrobras' own facilities run near full capacity amid rising domestic diesel demand. A deal could potentially be finalized before end-2026.