Business Areas

Transpetro’s operations, focused on transportation logistics, are divided into two major segments: Pipelines and Terminals and Maritime Transportation.

 

Whether by land or sea, the Company guarantees the excellence of the services provided and is in continuous pursuit of maximum reliability and safety in its operations and installations.

 

Pipelines and Terminals

The operation of terminals, oil pipelines and gas pipelines is our main business. Rely on the experience and safety record of a company that operates over 14 thousand km of pipelines in the country.

From the production fields the oil is transported by oil pipelines or tankers to our terminals and from there to the refineries. After refining the by-products are once again transported by pipelines to the terminals to be delivered to the distributor companies, who supply the domestic and international markets.

The continental dimensions of Brazil mandate a large number of terminals and the extension of the oil pipelines we operate.

We operate oil pipelines and gas pipelines branched throughout the country. Since they are interconnected to our 47 terminals, they ensure the transport of products between oil producing regions, refineries, and processing and distribution bases.

Pipeline network information:

  • 10 million m³ capacity
  • 540 tanks
  • 21 land terminals
  • 28 waterway terminals

Location map of pipelines and terminals 

Land Terminals

The land terminals function as warehouses for the different transport modes, ensuring reliability of the oil and by-product, biofuel and gas supply.

Waterway Terminals

The Transpetro waterway terminals are operated using piers, single buoy mooring or spread mooring.

 

Oil Pipelines

The oil pipelines are the preferred means of transportation to supply both the refineries and the large by-product consumer centers. This oil pipeline network that interconnects the various oil producing regions, refineries, terminals and distribution bases is supervised and controlled by the National Center of Logistics Management (CNCL) at the company’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.

Natural Gas

Transpetro is responsible for the operation and maintenance of over 5,102 km of gas pipelines. This network of integrates the Northeast and Southeast regions, allowing for great operational flexibility. It further includes the transportation of natural gas from Urucu to Manaus in the Northern Region. Through this network of oil pipelines flows 75% of all natural gas consumed in Brazil.

The network of oil pipelines operated by Transpetro includes gas pipelines and branches, compression stations, receipt points (of which three are LNG terminals), and delivery points, crossing over 300 municipalities. 

Gas Pipeline Network in numbers*:

  • Total: 7.155 km
  • Capacity: 105 million m³/day
  • 69 Gas Pipelines and Branches
  • 29 Receipt Points
  • 137 Delivery Points
  • 18 Compressor Stations

See the gas pipeline map

*Numbers updated in 2016.

Port Information

Transpetro makes specific port information available for installations where the company executes product loading and offloading operations.

Maritime Transportation

In a country with over 7 thousand km of coastline and 42 thousand km of navigable rivers, performing with efficiency and operational excellence is essential.

With our fleet we guarantee both the transportation of the maritime production and the transportation of oil and by-products, liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol to supply the domestic and international markets.

We are recognized in Brazil and internationally for our operational excellence, as well as for having one of the best environmental records in the world.

The investments for ensuring the quality of the fleet are permanent.  That is why the implementation of new technologies, the pursuit of operational excellence and the constant training of our workforce have been essential tools to meet the requirements of our clients and ensure self-sufficiency in transportation logistics of petroleum production.

Fronape History

 

From the National Tanker Fleet (Fronape) in 1950 to the incorporation of the vessels to the recently created Transporte S.A – Transpetro in 1998 was a long path. This story is marked by various events that revolutionized the direction of Brazilian naval history. The timeline with the main events of the period is shown below.

 

Timeline:

1949

 

March – Then President Eurico Gaspar Dutra implemented Law no. 650, which authorized the Public Sector to grant special credits. Part of these credits were allocated to the National Petroleum Council (CNP) to meet the expenses with the acquisition of new oil tankers.

 

December –CNP acquires the tanker Venus, which belonged to the Swedish navigation company Johnson Line. This first unit, at the time the largest South American vessel, received the name Presidente Dutra when upon acquiring the Brazilian flag.

 

 

 

1950

April– The National Oil Tanker Fleet (Fronape) was created via Decree no. 28.050, signed by President Eurico Gaspar Dutra, with Lt. Colonel Milton de Lima Araújo as the first administrator.

 

December –Eight months after the creation of Fronape, Decree no. 29.006 defined its attributions: execute the transportation of oil and by-products in Brazil and internationally, and furthermore engage in storage and commerce.

1952

 

November – President Getúlio Vargas, through Decree No. 31.775, approved new regulations for Fronape, maintaining the same attributions defined two years prior.

1953

 

October – Law no. 2.004 instituted the monopoly on the exploration, production, refining and transportation of oil and by-products, as well as gases of any type. The same document established that Petrobras would be responsible for the execution of these processes. Fronape then began to be directed to execute all short-sea maritime transport and to participate in long-distance transportation of imports and exports in support of the national petroleum policy.

1970

 

With General Emílio Garrastazu Médici inaugurated as President of Brazil, it was determined that Fronape expand its area of operations in the same manner as Petrobras was proceeding in its other activity areas.

1972

 

Fronape begins to operate in the transportation of ore and chemical products.

1973

 

The construction of the first two specialized vessels for ore and chemical products was ordered to comprise the fleet. Still at the start of the decade, contracts were signed with Japanese shipyards for building VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) vessels with capacity over 250 thousand deadweight tons (DWT).

1974

 

Fronape receives the José Bonifácio vessel in Japan. Two other vessels in the same category were incorporated to the fleet, increasing the share of Petrobras in the importation of crude oil.

1978 to 1980

 

Another four VLCC vessels were integrated into the fleet, however they were built in Brazil.

1998

 

The Fronape vessels were incorporated into the recently created Petrobras Transporte S.A – Transpetro.

 

Types of Vessels

 

Suezmax

Oil tanker for crude oil transportation. The load capacity is in the range of 140 thousand to 175 thousand deadweight tons (DWT). This vessel meets the limitations of the Suez Canal in Egypt: 48-meter beam and 17-meter draft.

Dynamic Positioning Vessel (DP)

Shuttle tanker for offloading production equipped with computer managed propulsion groups that allow for maintaining a stationary position at a certain location in the vicinity of FPSOs (floating production, storage and offloading units) and FSOs (floating storage and offloading units).

Aframax

Oil tanker for crude oil transportation.  The load capacity is in the range of 80 thousand to 120 thousand deadweight tons (DWT).). The name is based on the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) terminology.

Panamax

Tanker for transportation of crude oil and black oils. The load capacity is in the range of 65 thousand to 80 thousand deadweight tons (DWT). This tonnage is similar to those passing through the Panama Canal locks.

Products

Oil tankers for the transportation of oil by-products such as diesel, naphtha, gasoline, fuel oil and aviation kerosene. The load capacity is in the range of 30 thousand to 50 deadweight tons (DWT). It is mostly destined for short-sea shipping.

Gas Carriers

Type of vessel built for the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas. It is mostly destined for short-sea shipping.

Transpetro Fleet