By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s oil regulator, the Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis, ordered the immediate shutdown of storage tanks and related equipment at a fuel base operated by Vibra Energia in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, after an ethanol tank explosion early Sunday. The company is barred from handling hazardous products at the site until formally authorized to resume operations.
The explosion occurred during welding maintenance work, according to statements provided by the company to local authorities. Three contractors were present at the time. One worker was hospitalized and remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Hospital São João Batista. The other two are still missing, with search operations continuing uninterrupted using drones, boats and specialized ground teams.
Evacuation and Transfer
Municipal officials said the affected tank has a capacity of 2 million liters and contained approximately 350,000 liters of ethanol when the incident occurred. Authorities have begun transferring the remaining product, with tanker trucks mobilized to remove roughly 180,000 liters in the initial phase.
The operation is coordinated by the Fire Department, supported by hazardous materials units, Civil Defense and the municipal Environment Secretariat. A preventive evacuation within a 300-meter radius remains in effect during the transfer, under technical guidance from emergency teams. The Federal Fluminense University campus has been converted into a crisis room to centralize operational decisions.
Vibra is the former BR Distribuidora, once the fuel distribution arm of Petrobras and privatized during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro. At the time, BR was the country’s largest distributor, holding roughly 30% of Brazil’s fuel and lubricants market and operating nearly 8,000 service stations. Petrobras has since studied a potential return to fuel retailing to regain greater pricing control, but faces non-compete clauses with Vibra that run through 2029.