Dec. 11 (agazeta.com.br) Petrobras has restructured its low-carbon energy portfolio, reducing its ambition in renewable generation projects and positioning offshore wind energy as a long-term priority.
In line with this new strategy, which prioritizes balancing demand and regulatory market evolution, the company maintained only one pilot project in Rio de Janeiro, thus removing broader development plans in other regions, such as Espírito Santo.
Overall, Petrobras’ 2026-2030 business plan foresees investments of US$4 billion in the targeted implementation portfolio of the gas and low-carbon energy segment. The oil company has defined that, in low-carbon energies, the priorities for this five-year period will be ethanol, biodiesel, biomethane, diesel R, SAF, and biobunker, in line with regulatory and market advancements, taking advantage of synergies with the company’s operations.
The project planned for the southern coast of Espírito Santo was announced in 2023 by Petrobras and involved the implementation of an offshore wind farm. Until the 2025-2029 business plan, announced at the end of last year, the company still had the Espírito Santo I and Aracatu projects on its radar – mapped opportunities that at the time still needed to advance through regulations and auctions to reach the commercial project stage.
The company has now adjusted its investment, as it believes it is crucial to enter the market at the right time to avoid losing money, reducing its short-term ambition in renewable energy generation. The reduction in capital planned for low-carbon energy was almost exclusively in generation, including offshore wind. These projects were relegated to the back of the queue, with entry into the segment planned only after 2031.
This information was released earlier this week during a workshop for journalists on energy transition.
The general manager of Energy Transition at Petrobras’ Research Center (Cenpes), Roberta Mendes, reported that the state-owned company is focusing its efforts on an offshore wind pilot project in Rio de Janeiro. This initiative differs from a commercial wind farm because its main objective is to link energy generation close to pre-salt platforms to increase the oil recovery factor.
The pilot in Rio de Janeiro involves geotechnical analysis of the offshore subsoil to generate and transmit wind energy directly to the platform, without the need to develop long-distance electrical cables, which also require technological development.
The maintenance of this project and the postponement of others, such as the one that would be developed in southern Espírito Santo, reflect the company’s selectivity, which has directed Research, Development and Innovation (R&D) efforts only towards offshore wind projects that make sense for the business.
Within Petrobras’ profitable diversification strategy, offshore wind energy is positioned behind other alternatives, planned only for after 2031.
The allocation of resources and time follows a phased logic. A presentation by the Integrated Energy Transition Management Manager, Carlos Marçal, shows that Petrobras prioritizes routes that already have very high regulatory maturity and clear market demand. Therefore, the alternatives at the front of the line are biodiesel, biorefining, ethanol, biomethane, among others.
Biofuels and biorefining (such as biodiesel, bioethanol, and SAF) are the current priority, being the focus for the first five years of the new plan, followed by solar and onshore wind, which should enter in 2026. Solutions such as carbon capture systems (CCS) and energy storage (batteries) are planned for 2028, with low-carbon hydrogen somewhat further in the future.
Offshore wind power follows this logic and is at the end of the list, as the company needs to evolve in terms of measurement and research for the business to become profitable. Furthermore, the company justified this by stating that the demand for new energy generation is low in the short term, citing the small oversupply of renewable energy.
Petrobras explains that this oversupply creates a problem for the National System Operator (ONS), as adding more energy to the grid in the short term is seen as a complication, potentially causing blackouts due to excess energy.
Offshore wind power projects are included in the scope of studies within the research and development area. According to Petrobras, the 2026-2030 Business Plan focuses on allocating investments related to this segment through Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&I) initiatives, which allow for the search for technological solutions and different links in the supply chain, while simultaneously developing internal technical skills and reducing uncertainties related to the advancement of this type of undertaking.
In this regard, studies currently underway on the Brazilian coast stand out, such as the assessment of offshore wind potential along the country’s coast, focusing on measuring ocean winds using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. Within this scope, the development of the Bravo floating anemometric-meteo-oceanographic system (Offshore Remote Wind Assessment Buoy) is particularly noteworthy. With Bravo, Petrobras aims to advance the technology of this nationally developed equipment to commercial maturity (stage 3), meeting the criteria of the “Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator Roadmap for the Commercial Acceptance of Floating LiDAR Technology”.
These and other studies and technological developments provide fundamental data and information for new R&D initiatives in the sector, for example, the Rio de Janeiro Offshore Wind Pilot Plant.
Therefore, Petrobras affirms that it continues to conduct preliminary studies to improve its internal knowledge regarding wind potential and environmental characteristics in various regions of the Brazilian coast, including southern Espírito Santo.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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