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Brazilian energy giant and bunker supplier Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) S.A. has announced that deliveries of bunker fuel in domestic ports rose by 256,000 tonnes, or 5.15 percent, to 5.219 million tonnes last year, surpassing the previous record, of 4.963 million tonnes, set in 2007.

The added value of the company's commercial bunker operations topped-out at a record $135.8 million, 60.9 percent more than in 2007.

The main ports responsible for this increase were Santos, with a record 1.913 million tons delivered, 7.74 percent more than in 2007; Rio de Janeiro, delivering a record 1 million tons, a 2 percent increase compared to a year earlier; Paranaguá, at 523,000 tons delivered, 16.5 percent more than in 2007; and Vitória, moving 384,000 tons, a 54 percent growth compared to the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Petrobras said "These records are the outcome of several factors, including the alignment of efforts to come closer to major foreign-based riggers, suppressing third-party intermediation; operating optimization at the main ports; increased competitiveness with international prices; greater product availability on account of the integration in the downstream area, as well as because of the entrance of new feedstock currents; and blend imports based on leased tankage in Rotterdam."