President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Petrobras’ Sergipe Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant (Fafen-SE), in Laranjeiras (SE), on Friday morning (5/29). The resumption of operations at the plant in December 2025 marks the return of the company’s investments in the state.

At today’s event, Petrobras announced investments of more than R$ 70 billion in Sergipe, with the creation of 28,000 direct and indirect jobs. In addition to the fertilizer plant, the amount covers oil and gas exploration and production in deep waters and the decommissioning of shallow-water platforms.

Of the total announced, more than R$ 60 billion will be invested in the development of the Sergipe Deep Waters Project (SEAP), as set out in the company’s Strategic Plan.

During the event, Petrobras and SBM Offshore signed contracts for the construction of the SEAP P-81 and P-87 platforms, which together will have installed capacity to produce up to 240,000 barrels of oil per day and process 22 million cubic meters of natural gas.

Petrobras will own the units, while SBM Offshore will be responsible for the project, construction, and assembly, as well as the operation and maintenance of both platforms for a period of six and a half years.

“SEAP turns Sergipe into the largest producing state in the Northeast. We are going to bring the gas onshore here. These two platforms we are building are also proof of the technology and creative capacity of the Petrobras system. We will have a natural gas processing unit on each of these two platforms. What lowers the price of natural gas is not changing hands, but investing seriously and increasing production efforts so that it truly follows the law of supply and demand,” said President Magda Chambriard during the event.

Oil production is expected to begin in 2030, with gas exports starting in 2031. In addition to the two FPSOs, the project includes the construction and interconnection of 32 wells and the installation of a gas export pipeline of about 134 km.

The development of SEAP, including the construction of the gas pipeline, is expected to generate more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs. The expectation is that the Northeast’s share of national natural gas supply will almost double, rising from the current 16% to about 31% by 2035.

The tender for the supply of subsea Christmas trees and subsea equipment for the two projects is already underway. By the end of the year, tenders for the remaining infrastructure will begin.

Decommissioning of shallow-water offshore platforms

By 2035, Petrobras will invest about R$ 12.5 billion in the decommissioning of 26 oil platforms in shallow waters off Sergipe. The process, which began at the end of 2025, covers the plugging of 169 wells and the removal of structures, generating about 950 direct jobs and demand within the local supply chain.

Resumption of fertilizer production in Sergipe

The Sergipe Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant resumed ammonia production in December 2025 and began urea production in January 2026.

With R$ 60 million invested, the Fafen-SE plant produces ammonia, prilled and granulated urea, and has a daily urea production capacity of 1,800 tons, representing approximately 7% of national demand.

The resumption of Fafen-SE is already generating 530 direct jobs and about 1,500 indirect jobs. With the return of fertilizer production and commercialization, Petrobras reaffirms its commitment to Brazilian agribusiness and to the country.