Snapshot: Petrobras’ booming tech investments

Brazilian federal oil firm Petrobras is one of the main buyers of technology, telecom and IT services in the country, with projects ranging from large structures such as offshore fiber networks and wireless private networks to geological visualization software and supercomputers.

In 2022, the company disbursed over 4bn reais (US$770mn) in tech R&D expenses, an increase of roughly 1bn reais from 2021. 

In Q4, these expenses fell by 4.3% year-over-year to 942mn reais.

In its financial and operational reports, the company said that the growth in these expenses in 2022 is explained “by the increase in the legal obligation to invest in research, development and innovation (RD&I), mainly due to the increase in revenues from the pre-salt fields."

Of the company's total 2022 tech R&D expenses, the exploration and production (E&P) area accounted for 3.48bn reais, up from 2.25bn reais in 2021.

2023-27 PLAN

Petrobras' current strategic plan, which contemplates US$78bn in investments for 2023-27, earmarks US$2.1bn for digital transformation and innovation.

On this front, the company is investing in offshore connectivity, comprising both the fiber optic mesh and private mobile networks, and the use of high-capacity satellites.

A seventh onshore network was about to be fully activated, Maximiliam Vieira, the company's senior ICT consultant and among those responsible for the project, told BNamericas in January.

At present, wireless private networks are functioning on 11 of 29 platforms and in six of 17 onshore facilities, all part of the project's first phase.

The project comprises a dedicated network for 46 onshore and offshore units by 2024, but this number might increase as Petrobras adds more platforms to its portfolio.

The onshore facilities include refineries, gas processing plants, thermal plants, port terminals and logistics warehouses.

The company also intends to advance in high performance computing (HPC, or supercomputers) and quantum computing, both for seismic processing and reservoir studies.

Petrobras currently has four supercomputers, with a fifth expected to be operating by the end of this month. Dubbed Gaia, the machine is set to increase Petrobras' total computer processing capacity from 63 petaflops to around 70 petaflops.

Gaia alone will have processing capacity of 7.7 petaflops, which is equivalent to 1.5mn cell phones or 40,000 laptops, and an estimated power consumption of 574kW.

Petrobras' goal is to reach an HPC capacity equivalent to 550,000 powerful laptops by 2027.

Digitization and robotization, with the use of IoT, in addition to new technological concepts for production development and new technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, are also part of the priority agenda in digital transformation, especially in the E&P segment.

Petrobras is aiming to have 80% of its processes digitized by 2027, with a focus on robotization processes, and reach 185 ‘digital workers’ (robotic automatic processes), leading to over 850,000 hours of productivity per year.

The company also said it intends by 2027 to have more than 25,000 employees trained and reskilled in digital abilities.

In the onshore area, private networks in logistics warehouses and terminals and new CRM platforms, among others, will be the focus.

In logistics, specifically, the company intends to invest US$810mn in the period, a good part of which will go towards efficiency and logistics technology.

Other technological fronts in which Petrobras aims to up its ante are modern digital twins, to include the use of AI, and the adoption of low-code technologies to accelerate the delivery of software solutions, in addition to enhanced protection against cyberattacks.

From a tech creation standpoint, the company targets in its strategic plan having 1,200 active patents in 2025. 

According to Petrobras' 2022 report, the company already has 1,100 active patents.