Mar 4, 2020
Petrobras decided to suspend the pilot project for offshore wind generation in the Ubarana field, in the Potiguar Basin, on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. The decision was communicated to Ibama, responsible for the environmental licensing of the project, at the end of January.
In a letter sent to the Licensing department, Petrobras states that the project has been “reassessed and suspended, while the company is looking for opportunities for synergies and partnerships with the objective of developing a commercial offshore wind generation project in Brazil”.
The Ubarana wind farm would be a pilot, research project. In addition to the tower and the wind turbine, Petrobras envisaged the installation of equipment to measure the generation potential about 20 km from the Guamaré coast, in a region with an average water depth between 12 and 16 meters.
In the current management of Roberto Castello Branco, Petrobras is leaving the energy sectors, which includes selling and reducing its presence in renewable generation – in addition to wind, it is also leaving the production of biofuels.
It is part of the strategy of “maximizing the return for shareholders”, that is, investing in the production of oil and natural gas from the pre-salt, assets that give more return. At the end of last year, the company gave up on a partnership to study offshore wind projects alongside Total Eren, a division of the French oil company Total. Power360
This stance is even beginning to be questioned by market analysts. During the presentation of the company’s results, in February – when it revealed a record profit of R $ 40 billion -, questions were asked as to whether the brake on the energy transition cannot impact the company’s reputation and competitiveness in the future.
“I think that after two more years of hard work, the company will be more competitive and will be prepared to conclude which will be the competitive areas in renewables for Petrobras”, evaluated Andrea Almeida, the company’s financial director. Value
For now, the company’s focus is on mitigating emissions. Intends to invest US $ 850 million by 2024 in measures to decarbonize its oil and natural gas production – US $ 70 million per year in R&D and another US $ 100 million per year to stop flare emissions, CO2 capture and storage and energy efficiency .
Meanwhile, on March 11, the environmental impact studies of Bi Energia’s offshore wind farm Caucaia, on the coast of Ceará, will be presented. It is the first public hearing for offshore wind licensing in the country.
Bi Energia intends to install 59 wind turbines, 48 of them in the open sea, with a total installed capacity of 576 MW, and another 11 towers, with a total of 22 MW in total, on land.
And last month, Neoenergia started licensing three new projects for the construction of offshore wind farms in Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and also in Ceará. Together, they total 9 GW of installed capacity in 600 wind turbines – the largest projects under planning in the country.
Source: epbr
Brazil Energy Insight 
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