Petrobras has not yet managed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in its refineries to the same extent as in its oil platforms, according to the company's Institutional Relations and Sustainability director, Roberto Ardenghy. "We have a job to do," said the executive in a virtual lecture, during the International Symposium on Automotive Engineering (Simea) this Wednesday, 17.

In the segment of converting oil into oil products, the main challenge has been to generate “cleaner” products. The company's bets in this regard have been, above all, in the production of diesel oil with a renewable portion and aviation biokerosene, whose international legislation should become more demanding as of 2027.

But, with regard to its "green diesel", H-Bio, the company still encounters regulatory barriers and the resistance of the agricultural sector, which produces 100% vegetable-based biodiesel. The understanding of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) so far is that the two products are not competitors, because only a small portion of H-Bio is clean. The product is born from a combination of oil processing with renewable inputs.

The argument of the director of the state-owned company, however, is that the emission of its product is 15% lower than that of its similar agricultural base. "We did a test at Repar (refinery in Paraná), with positive results. We have the patent of our research center. We have the indication that (H-Bio) has less contaminants and provides a better performance to the engine, generating less problems of quality to the consumer. We intend to do this (offer to the market) as soon as we are released by the regulatory authorities ", said Ardenghy.

During the event, he added that Petrobras has a well-defined strategic vision about its insertion in the energy transition. The executive stressed that environmental targets have been used to calculate the remuneration of employees. The estimated investment in this area is US $ 1 billion over the next five years.