Petrobras eyes carbon capture service

Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras' plan to invest $300mn in low-carbon energy studies and projects over the next four years includes a close look at carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies.

In recent years, Petrobras has been increasing the volume of CO₂ separated from natural gas and reinjected into its reservoirs. In 2023, Petrobras captured 25pc of the CO₂ produced from its exploratory fields along the Brazilian coast. Its goal is to stop methane emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, director Mauricio Tolmasquim said at the Energy Summit in Rio de Janeiro state last week.

Petrobras has developed a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system, separating CO₂ from natural gas, compressing it, and then reinjecting it into pre-salt ultradeep water reservoirs, where gas reinjection is already common for oil recovery.

As part of a larger strategy, Petrobras plans to move beyond hydrocarbon production to explore geologically suitable formations near the coast for CO₂ storage. The plan is to offer this service to other companies with decarbonization targets.

Petrobras plans to establish a CCUS hub in Brazil's southeast, near the most populous markets, and will operate by selling CO₂ capture certificates — pending the development of a regulated carbon market.

"We talk to the main Brazilian industries that may be interested in decarbonization through carbon capture and storage," said Tolmasquin.

The proposal would capture the CO₂ onshore from industrial sites such as power plants, refineries, and ethanol, steel and cement production plants, then move it back to deepwater reservoirs via pipelines.

The strategy will aim at both depleted oil and natural gas reservoirs as well as other porous formations with suitable characteristics for CO₂ storage, Tolmasquim told Argus. The analysis of these formations uses techniques similar to those for exploration and production activities. The reservoirs under analysis for each CCUS hub can store industrial CO₂ emissions for over 50 years.

The pilot project could begin as early as 2027, but commercial CCUS projects still depend on regulatory changes.

By Betina Moura