Rio de Janeiro – Petrobras broke its petrol and aviation fuel record in December, according to a press statement disclosed by the organisation today (12). The volume of petrol traded last month reached 1.966 million cubic metres (m³) (12.366 million barrels a month or 399,000 barrels a day). The result excludes the previous record, for March 2010, by 50,000 m³, at a time when the volume of anhydrous alcohol added to petrol had been reduced from 25% to 20%.
According to Petrobras, factors contributing to the record were the greater sales that are common at the end of the year and the higher ethanol prices since mid June. Higher ethanol prices made petrol the fuel of preference for owners of flexible fuelled vehicles (that can run either on ethanol, petrol or any mixture of the two fuels) in most Brazilian states.
In 2010, Petrobras petrol sales rose 17.8% over 2009. The company, the main supplier of fuel for the Brazilian vehicle fleet, forecasts continued growth in coming months. This estimate is the result of a greater fleet incorporated into the Brazilian market in 2010 and to the period between sugarcane crops.
Aviation fuel sales totalled 585,450 m³ (119,000 barrels a day), growth of 4.9% over the previous record (117,000 barrels a day), for July 2010.
Last year, there was growth of 16.6% in the Brazilian aviation fuel market, as against 2009. This performance, according to Petrobras, is a direct consequence of Brazilian economic growth.
*Translated by Mark Ament