Petrobras closing in on renewable generation assets

Brazil's Petrobras will soon submit its first renewable energy generation asset acquisition plans to its board of directors.

"In the next few weeks, we’ll be taking projects to the board," CEO Jean Paul Prates told reporters in the US. 

The federal oil company’s low-carbon budget for 2024-28 includes US$5.2bn for wind and solar power. 

In a presentation to international investors earlier this year, Petrobras said there is 76.3GW of renewable energy opportunities for mergers and acquisitions in the country. 

The state-run oil company will focus exclusively on Brazil when it comes to renewable energy generation projects, including offshore wind power.

"We will perhaps have some onshore solar and wind energy clusters. And, as the scale increases, we could connect them to green hydrogen projects or offshore wind," Prates said. 

He highlighted that Petrobras is currently conducting wind measurements and is developing a new wind turbine in partnership with WEG. 

Meanwhile, it signed offshore wind memorandums of understanding with the governments of Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Norte, a letter of intent with Equinor and has submitted to Brazil’s environmental regulator Ibama 23GW in undertakings. 

"We're moving forward while the law is being prepared," the CEO said, referring to the regulatory framework that is being discussed in congress.