(PH) Angelica Ruiz took charge of bp in Brazil just three months ago, but she already has a lot of work ahead of her. The executive, who accumulates the position of VP of Latin America, has the challenge of leading the operation of a company that, present in the country since 1957, operates in the areas of E&P, biofuels, lubricants, solar energy, tankage and logistics, distribution of QAV and bunker, and generation and commercialization of energy.
Ruiz will have the challenge of conducting the exploratory campaign for Pau Brasil, in the Santos Basin pre-salt, the oil company’s big bet in Brazil. With a deadline of December 2025 to carry out the Minimum Exploratory Program (MEP), bp plans to drill the asset’s exploratory well in the first quarter of 2024. At the moment, the executive said that the hiring process for the rig that will be mobilized is ongoing .
BP’s original plan was to drill in the Pau Brasil area between 2021 and 2022 – however, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused the schedule to be postponed twice. The program also included at least two other exploratory wells, with the possibility of a third. The block is operated by the British oil company with a 50% stake, in partnership with CNOOC Petroleum (30%) and Ecopetrol (20%).
Another big bet of the company is the Alto de Cabo Frio Central block, in the pre-salt of Campos, where it has a partnership with Petrobras, the operator of the asset. After discovering oil and gas in the formation known as Barra Velha and having completed the formation test of the pioneer well, the consortium intends to start drilling two appraisal wells to measure the block’s reserves.
“We are optimistic, but very cautious”, said the executive. According to her report, the next steps depend on the approval of investments for the asset, operated by the Brazilian state-owned company.
Also in the pre-salt, the company has a 30% stake in the Dois Irmãos block consortium, in the pre-salt of the Campos Basin, together with Petrobras (45%) and Equinor (25%), and in the Bumerangue block, in the Santos pre-salt, acquired in the first permanent offer of sharing areas, in 2022. The first, acquired in the 4th Sharing Round, held in 2018, had the pioneer well drilled by the Ocean Courage rig in 2022.
Despite having thrown in the towel at Foz do Amazonas, bp has three blocks in partnership with Petrobras in the Barreirinhas Basin, whose term is suspended by the ANP. Asked about the imbroglio surrounding the Equatorial Margin, the executive was categorical in saying that “the Brazilian government must have autonomy to decide on how it intends to deal with environmental and social issues related to the Equatorial Margin”.
In all, the company owns 10 blocks in three Brazilian sedimentary basins – BM-BAR-346, BM-BAR-3 and BAR-M-175 (BM-BAR-5) in the Barreirinhas Basin; C-M-755, C-M-793 and C-M-477 in the Campos Basin; Dois Irmãos and Alto de Cabo Frio Central, in the Campos Basin pre-salt; S-M-1500, in the Santos Basin. The Bumerangue block will soon have a contract signed with the ANP.
Opportunities in the energy transition
Angelica Ruiz envisions great potential and investment opportunities in the generation of green hydrogen in Brazil. According to Ruiz, Brazil has a privileged position in bp’s global strategy. By 2050, she forecasts that there will be a strong increase in the demand for energy in the country. In addition, the executive notes that the region has indispensable resources to play a key role in the energy transition process over the next ten years.
The country manager highlights the country’s vocation for producing green hydrogen and biofuels. With regard to bioenergy, the executive revealed that, after unsuccessful attempts to sell the 11 plants of BP Bunge, the company is considering revamp of the plants to produce second generation biofuels.
“Brazil is one of the countries that have the best competitive conditions for the production of H2V”, said the executive. She pointed out that she welcomes the domestic consumption of H2V produced in Brazil, since the development of transport technologies for this energy vector still has numerous challenges. “We are in the conceptual phase of mapping opportunities [for H2V in Brazil],” she added.
In the area of renewables, the group has investment plans for the solar energy segment, with the construction of the Complexo Solar Milagres by Lightsource bp, comprising five photovoltaic plants located in the municipality of Abaiara, Ceará. The project will have a generation capacity of 210 MWp.
There are also plans aimed at the biogas segment. At the end of 2022, bp acquired Archaea Energy for US$4.1 billion.
Other operations
bp maintains the thermal plants GNA I, in operation at Porto do Açu, in São João da Barra, in Rio de Janeiro, and GNA II. In April, the second unit of the thermoelectric park received the first of the three turbines. The park will have a generation capacity of 2 GW.
In the area of lubricants, Castrol, a bp subsidiary that operates in 25 countries across five continents, sees Brazil as the market with the greatest prospects for global growth within its portfolio. The country is home to the company’s only factory in Latin America. Located in the municipality of Franco da Rocha, in São Paulo, the plant is dedicated to the production of hydraulic fluids for subsea control, Transaqua, its main product. With a production capacity of over 300,000 liters a month, the unit supplies the Brazilian market, which is responsible for absorbing 20% of the world’s demand for Transaqua.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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