Petrobras sees opportunity with low renewable energy price scenario

The scenario of low renewable energy prices in Brazil represents a great opportunity for Petrobras and the country, the state-run oil firm's energy transition director, Maurício Tolmasquim, told a press conference on Tuesday.     

"Because decarbonization starts with electrification, replacing fossil energy. And what can't be decarbonized with electrons will be decarbonized with renewable molecules, such as hydrogen and green methanol," Tolmasquim said.

"This could be part of a new industrialization for the country using the abundance of cheap wind energy for new industrial processes." 

Despite the prospect of worsening hydrology, Brazil is likely to continue to enjoy a comfortable energy supply situation.

That is due to the large installed capacity of renewable sources connected and interconnected to the national electricity system, both in terms of centralized and distributed generation.

With the bubble of new generation projects and relatively weak consumption growth prospects, energy prices have remained at the floor. 

Petrobras’ low-carbon budget for 2024-28 includes US$5.2bn for wind and solar power, US$3.9bn for solutions to decarbonize operations, US$1.5bn in biorefining (renewable diesel and aviation biokerosene), US$700mn in research and development and US$300mn in hydrogen and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS). 

The federal oil giant plans to submit its first renewable energy generation asset acquisition plans to its board soon. 

Petrobras will focus exclusively on Brazil when it comes to renewable energy generation projects, including offshore wind power.

Several Brazilian and foreign groups are partnering with Petrobras to develop low-carbon solutions.