reverse the flow, and put the gas inside the UFN3
Em Três Lagoas, a Petrobras retoma um projeto que ficou adormecido por mais de uma década — não apenas como empreendimento industrial, mas como resposta estratégica à fragilidade que o Brasil sentiu quando as cadeias globais de fertilizantes se romperam com a guerra na Ucrânia. A UFN3, futura maior fábrica de fertilizantes nitrogenados da América do Sul, representa a aposta do país de que a soberania agrícola começa no subsolo — seja no pré-sal brasileiro, nas planícies argentinas de Vaca Muerta ou nos dutos que um dia trouxeram gás boliviano e que agora podem inverter seu curso.
- A dependência brasileira de fertilizantes importados expôs o agronegócio a choques externos severos, e a UFN3 surge como resposta direta a essa vulnerabilidade estrutural.
- O risco de esgotamento das reservas bolivianas ameaçava deixar a planta sem combustível antes mesmo de entrar em operação plena — uma contradição que poderia inviabilizar o investimento de US$ 1 bilhão.
- A Petrobras respondeu com uma solução técnica ousada: inverter o fluxo do gasoduto Bolívia-Brasil para abastecer a UFN3 com gás nacional do pré-sal ou com gás argentino de Vaca Muerta.
- Testes já confirmaram a viabilidade da inversão, e a empresa prevê adicionar 18 milhões de metros cúbicos diários de produção a partir de campos no litoral de Sergipe.
- Com retomada prevista entre junho e julho de 2026 e capacidade plena até 2029, o projeto promete 7 a 8 mil empregos diretos e o abastecimento de 15% da demanda nacional de fertilizantes nitrogenados.
A Petrobras está relançando a UFN3, unidade de fertilizantes nitrogenados em Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul, que permaneceu paralisada por mais de dez anos. Com investimento de US$ 1 bilhão e retomada das operações prevista para meados de 2026, a planta deve atingir capacidade plena por volta de 2029, tornando-se a maior fábrica de fertilizantes nitrogenados da América do Sul. A produção diária chegará a 3.600 toneladas de ureia e 2.200 toneladas de amônia — produtos que o Brasil hoje importa em larga escala.
O contexto geopolítico dá urgência ao projeto. A ruptura das cadeias globais de fertilizantes após a invasão russa da Ucrânia evidenciou a vulnerabilidade do agronegócio brasileiro. Quando operacional, a UFN3 poderá suprir cerca de 15% da demanda nacional por fertilizantes nitrogenados, reduzindo essa exposição.
O principal desafio era o abastecimento de gás. A planta exige 2,2 milhões de metros cúbicos diários, e a Bolivia — fornecedora histórica do Brasil pelo gasoduto binacional — enfrenta perspectivas de esgotamento de reservas. A solução encontrada pela Petrobras é inverter o fluxo do gasoduto: em vez de receber gás boliviano, o Brasil passaria a injetar gás próprio do pré-sal ou gás argentino proveniente de Vaca Muerta. A Argentina já realizou essa inversão anos atrás, e testes técnicos confirmaram a viabilidade para o trecho brasileiro.
Para reforçar a oferta, a empresa prevê ampliar sua produção em 18 milhões de metros cúbicos diários a partir de campos no litoral sergipano. O projeto está dividido em 11 pacotes de obras, com parte dos contratos já assinados. No pico da construção, serão gerados entre 7.000 e 8.000 empregos diretos na região. Grande parte da infraestrutura original, projetada em 2011, será reaproveitada, o que contribui para a competitividade econômica do empreendimento.
Petrobras is moving forward with the restart of a fertilizer plant that has sat idle for more than a decade, and the company says it has solved what could have been a critical problem: where to get the natural gas needed to keep it running.
The Unidade de Fertilizantes Nitrogenados 3, or UFN3, sits in Três Lagoas in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. When it begins operations again—expected sometime between June and July of this year, pending final contract signatures in May—it will become South America's largest nitrogen fertilizer factory. The plant will need 2.2 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to produce ureia and ammonia, the fertilizers Brazil currently imports in large quantities. The $1 billion investment to restart the facility reflects how strategically important the government and Petrobras consider the project.
The timing matters. Global supply chains for fertilizers fractured when Russia invaded Ukraine, and Brazil, one of the world's largest agricultural producers, felt the shock. A domestic source of nitrogen fertilizers would reduce that vulnerability and help the country's farmers and economy. When the plant reaches full capacity around 2029, it could supply roughly 15 percent of Brazil's total demand for these products.
But there was a wrinkle: Bolivia, where Brazil has long sourced natural gas through the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline, faces the prospect of depleting its reserves if new exploration and investment don't happen there soon. Petrobras currently buys between 10 and 15 million cubic meters of Bolivian gas daily. If that supply dried up, the UFN3 project could be stranded without fuel.
Petrobras has a solution, according to Dimitrios Chalela Magalhães, the executive manager overseeing the project's development and decommissioning. The company can reverse the flow of the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline. Instead of gas moving from Bolivia into Brazil, Brazilian gas would move the other direction—or more precisely, into the UFN3 facility. Brazil has substantial reserves in its pre-sal fields offshore, and there are also negotiations underway with Argentina and Bolivia to bring gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta formation through the existing pipeline infrastructure. Tests have already shown this is technically feasible; Argentina itself reversed pipeline flows years ago when it discovered its own reserves and no longer needed Bolivian gas.
Magalhães emphasized that Petrobras has already budgeted for new gas production capacity as part of the same investment plan that funds the UFN3 restart. The company plans to add 18 million cubic meters of daily production from fields off the coast of Sergipe. Combined with pre-sal reserves and the possibility of Argentine gas, Petrobras argues there will be sufficient supply regardless of what happens in Bolivia.
The project has been divided into 11 construction packages, with some contracting already complete. During peak construction, the company expects to create between 7,000 and 8,000 direct jobs, plus additional indirect employment in the region. The plant will produce 3,600 tons of ureia and 2,200 tons of ammonia daily when fully operational. Much of the existing infrastructure from the original 2011 design will be reused, keeping costs down and maintaining what Petrobras says is a competitive gas consumption profile for this type of facility.
The restart represents a bet that Brazil can reduce its dependence on imported fertilizers while simultaneously solving the gas supply puzzle that once seemed like an obstacle. If the timeline holds, the UFN3 will be producing by the first half of 2029.
Citas Notables
If Bolivian gas eventually runs out, we use the new gas that will be in the Brazilian network. We reverse the flow and put the gas inside the UFN3.— Dimitrios Chalela Magalhães, Petrobras executive manager for project development
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Petrobras think reversing the pipeline flow is actually viable? Isn't that a last resort?
It's already been done. Argentina reversed flows on part of this same pipeline system when Vaca Muerta came online. The infrastructure exists. The question is just whether there's enough gas to go around—and Petrobras is betting there is, between pre-sal fields, Sergipe production, and Argentine reserves.
But what if all three sources don't materialize? What if pre-sal disappoints, or Argentina won't export, or Sergipe takes longer?
Then the plant would face real constraints. But Petrobras has already committed $1 billion to this restart. They're not going in blind. The gas supply guarantee is part of the same investment package. They're essentially saying: we're funding new production capacity as insurance.
How much of Brazil's fertilizer problem does this actually solve?
About 15 percent of national demand for nitrogen fertilizers. That's significant but not transformative. Brazil will still import the majority. But 15 percent is domestic, stable, and tied to a strategic industry—agriculture. That matters politically and economically.
The plant has been idle for over a decade. Why now?
Ukraine. When Russia invaded, fertilizer prices spiked and supply became unreliable. Brazil realized how exposed it was. That shock made the investment case for UFN3 suddenly urgent in a way it hadn't been before.
And the jobs—7,000 to 8,000 during construction. What happens after?
The plant itself will need permanent staff to operate, but that's a smaller number. The real economic benefit is the fertilizer production itself, which supports agriculture. The construction jobs are temporary but substantial for a region like Mato Grosso do Sul.