Cases will address pre-salt carbon competitiveness and results of socio-environmental projects in the climate area

The pioneering solutions that led Petrobras to produce oil and gas with low carbon emissions in the pre-salt of the Santos Basin and the results of the company's social and environmental projects aimed at mitigating climate change will be presented this Thursday, 4/ 11, at COP-26, which is being held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Petrobras is committed to the transition to a low-carbon global economy and seeks to produce affordable energy for society, with a safe, efficient, low-cost operation and with fewer emissions. Recently, the company announced its ambition to achieve neutrality of emissions from its operations within a period compatible with the Paris Agreement. The ambition complements the sustainability commitments already published for 2030, which includes the goal of reducing absolute emissions by 25% by 2030 (base 2015).

“The competitive transformation of the transport sector is a long effort because it requires the replacement of infrastructure. We need a long-term look, but it's important to act quickly. Reducing emissions early has an important cumulative effect and we need to keep in mind that one liter can be produced with much less emissions than another. Valuing the consumption of oil produced more efficiently has an immediate and very relevant effect on global emissions”, says Viviana Coelho (photo), executive manager of Climate Change at Petrobras.

Over the past 11 years, Petrobras has reduced the greenhouse gas emissions in the production of each barrel of oil by 47%, reaching a carbon intensity of 15.8 kgCO2e per barrel of oil equivalent in the first half of 2021 – a mark that ranks among the leading companies in the production of oil and gas with less emissions. In this sense, the company implemented pioneering solutions, adopted management measures and developed new technologies to ensure low emissions oil and gas production in the Santos Basin Pre-Salt Pole, which will be the subject of one of the cases presented.

Among the main solutions are actions to reduce gas flaring in torches, energy efficiency gains and projects for the capture, use and geological storage of CO2 (CCUS), in addition to the profile of new assets and portfolio management. As a result, the oil produced in the pre-salt of the Santos Basin is among the most emission-intensive in the world. The two largest fields in the region, Búzios and Tupi, operate, on average, with around 10 kgCO2e per barrel of oil equivalent produced.

In addition to investing in the reduction of emissions in operations, Petrobras voluntarily supports projects aimed at the conservation and recovery of forests and natural areas that contribute to carbon sequestration and fixation and to avoid greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to having several others positive social and environmental impacts. For over ten years, this has been one of the priority themes of Petrobras' socio-environmental investment program. The results achieved by these projects will be the subject of the second case presented by the company. In 2020, the Prorama Petrobras Socioambiental portfolio included 15 projects in five Brazilian biomes that, together, had as an accumulated result over the period of implementation (on average, 6 years) the estimated potential contribution in carbon fixation and avoided emissions from 870 thousand tons of CO2 equivalent. This corresponds to the amount of carbon fixed by about 6 million Atlantic Forest trees up to their 20 years of age.

These projects were also responsible for planting more than 960,000 seedlings, contributing to the recovery and/or conservation of around 95 thousand hectares (an area 600 times larger than the Ibirapuera Park – SP) and 220 springs, in addition to the management strengthened and sustainable management of 35 million hectares of protected areas. They also contributed to food security and income generation by supporting local production chains, in addition to enabling the generation of knowledge, development of new technologies for the recovery and conservation of forests, conservation of associated biodiversity, awareness and environmental education. “In the 2021 public selection, we chose four new initiatives that will join the other projects in the portfolio developed with this objective. These social and environmental projects, in addition to helping to avoid greenhouse gas emissions, will leave a relevant legacy for future generations,” says Olinta Cardoso, Petrobras' Executive Manager for Social Responsibility.

“Participating in COP-26 demonstrates Petrobras' commitment to being part of the global dialogue on climate change and the challenges of decarbonization. In all scenarios of energy transition, the oil and gas industry will play an important role in the coming decades, and we believe that Petrobras is well-positioned for be a leading company in the collective effort to achieve the ambitious goals within the scope of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”, complements the Institutional Relations and Sustainability director, Roberto Ardenghy.