Brazil roundup: Fortescue’s green hydrogen plant, Enel’s capex, PPSA’s oil tender and more

Green hydrogen

Fortescue Future Industries' green hydrogen plant in Brazil, which will be built at the Pecém industrial and port complex in Ceará, has received the support of the company's board through an early investment decision. 

Fortescue is working on the final definitions and adjustments to the engineering project and discussing details with current and potential suppliers in order to move forward with the contracting of services and products. 

The company recently received authorization from the environmental authority of Ceará state, Semace, to begin site preparation works and expects to announce shortly the date for the start of site preparation works, which should begin by the end of the year.

Greener FPSO

The Bacalhau FPSO has received approval in principle for Abate notation from classification society DNV, making it the first new built FPSO in the world to achieve such a recognition, according to its owner Modec.

The Abate notation requires stringent management of emission systems (similar to ISO 50001 energy management requirements) and the implementation of substantial abatement measures onboard to prevent non-emergency flaring and optimize the efficiency of power/heat generation. 

Distribution capex

Enel Distribuição Rio will invest around 3.5bn reais (US$630mn) in Rio de Janeiro state over the next three years, for an average annual amount 18% higher on the average of the last six years.

Wind park

EDF Renewables Brasil announced that phase 2 of the Serra do Seridó wind farm, in the municipalities of Junco do Seridó, Santa Luzia, Salgadinho and Assunção in Paraíba state, has started full commercial operations.

With phases 1 and 2, Serra do Seridó represents EDF Renewables' largest wind farm complex in South America, totaling 480MW of installed capacity.

Power financing 

Omnigen Energy and Appian Capital Advisory have secured 250mn reais in financing from Itaú BBA for the development of a portfolio of 20 small-scale solar plants.

Located in Minas Gerais state, the plants will have total capacity of 62.4MWp. 

Power tenders

Electric power watchdog Aneel has opened a public consultation to receive suggestions on the public notice and annexes for the 2024 A-1, A-2 and A-3 energy auctions. 

Aimed at contracting electricity from existing generation projects, the auctions will be held on December 6.

Oil tender

Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) has qualified 10 companies to take part in the federal government's 4th oil auction, which will be held on July 31 at the B3 stock exchange in São Paulo. 

The companies are: Petrobras, Mataripe Refinery (Acelen), CNOOC Petroleum Brasil, ExxonMobil Exploração Brasil, Equinor Brasil Energia, Galp Energia Brasil, PetroChina International (Brazil) Trading, PRIO Comercializadora, Shell Trading Brasil and TotalEnergies EP Brasil.

Some 37.5Mb (million barrels) of oil will be sold, which is the government's estimate of production for 2025 from the Mero and Búzios fields. 

Carbon capture and storage

FS has completed technical studies proving that the geological conditions are suitable for injecting the CO2 emitted during the fermentation phase of biofuel production underground.

The company is preparing to start construction on the injection site, which is scheduled for 2025. 

SLB interpreted the seismic data and drilled the stratigraphic well to map the geological data.

Carbon credits 1

Neoenergia announced the approval of the creation of a joint venture with Spain's Carbon2Nature, a specialist in nature-based solutions (NBS) to generate carbon credits.

Carbon2Nature is controlled by Spanish group Iberdrola, Neoenergia’s parent company. 

In Brazil, the new company was set up with the aim of implementing reforestation projects, forest management and control and safety monitoring. It also plans to rehabilitate and conserve mangroves in the country. 

Carbon credits 2

Repsol Sinopec (RSB) has launched a call for startups, universities and research institutions inside and outside Brazil that wish to become collaborators in the DAC.SI - Direct Air Capture Project, a solution in Latin America for the direct capture of CO2 from the air.

The best solutions will be tested at the DAC process technology laboratory located at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). The best solution can also be used for field-scale tests.

Fuel transportation

In order to meet the increased demand for marine fuels, Nova Offshore, a subsidiary of Bunker One, has increased its fleet by one. There are now five ferries, three of which are company-owned, as well as three chartered tugboats and a tanker.

The company is planning to buy or charter new ferries and ships in the short and medium term, with a growth target of at least 30% over the next two years.

M&A schedule 

The incorporation of Enauta by 3R Petroleum is expected to be concluded by July 31, the companies announced on Thursday. 

The operation also involves the shares of Maha Holding and 3R Offshore. 

As a result, 3R will have production of around 70,000boe/d, corresponding to 1.5% of Brazil’s national output.