Environmental management

Emissions reductions and management

Climate change

The Brazilian economic growth over the upcoming years may increase the energy sector greenhouse gas emissions. Given this perspective, the company included Strategic Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Projects in its Strategic Plan. These projects were designed to help Petrobras voluntarily reach levels of excellence in the oil and gas industry with regard both to processes and products intensity of greenhouse gas emission and to processes energy efficiency.

Petrobras set the following targets to be achieved by 2015:

  • Reduce the energy intensity of refining and thermoelectric plant operations by 10% and 5%, respectively;
  • Reduce natural gas flaring intensity in exploration and production operations by 65%;
  • Reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emission from exploration and production, refining, and thermoelectric plants operations by 15%, 8%, and 5% respectively.

Petrobras also considers essential to deeper analyze both the potential impact the possible worsening of weather phenomena may have on its operations, and also the effects of regulation and markets changes targeting the mitigation of global climate change. Petrobras' operations in the United States and in Japan are currently the ones that are most likely to have restrictions concerning greenhouse gas emissions, since these countries have already made commitments to mitigate global climate change.

Get to know the major climate change-related initiatives Petrobras has adopted:

  • Air Emissions Management System (Sigea), which, since 2002, has assisted in the preparation of detailed inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants, recording data from over 30,000 sources of emissions in all of the company's units in Brazil and abroad;
  • Establishment of an internal governance system that allows the company to assess opportunities to reduce the intensity of GHG emissions associated with new investment projects;
  • Investments in biofuels. Established in 2008, Petrobras Biocombustível has capacity to produce 498,000 cubic meters of biodiesel per year. The 2010-2014 Business Plan foresees investments of $3.5 billion in biofuels, of which $530 million will be earmarked for research and development of new technology, including for second generation biofuels;
  • Development of internal programs to increase operations energy efficiency;
  • Gas flaring reduction and use;
  • Power generation from renewable sources;
  • Encouraging rational fuel use through actions carried out under the National Program for Oil Products and Natural Gas Use Rationalization.
  • Investments in research and development (R&D) programs focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and on carbon capture and geological storage (CCGS);
  • Engagement with organizations in Brazil and abroad that are involved in efforts to mitigate global climate change, and adaptation to these changes;
  • Sponsorship for environmental projects of water conservation, carbon fixation, and emissions mitigation by recovering degraded areas or using such areas to establish sustainable production systems and natural areas and forests conservation.

Debating climate change

Petrobras participates in discussions about global climate change in several forums, with special emphasis on the 16th Conference of the Parties of UNFCCC(1) where the company presented details on its emissions monitoring system - the Air Emissions Management System (Sigea). Petrobras also takes part in other initiatives, such as the Ipea Climate Change Working Group (CCWG)(2), the Arpel Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Committee(3), WBCSD(4) initiatives in the area, and in the Thematic Chamber for Energy and Climate Change of the CEBDS(5), the Brazilian local network of the WBCSD.

(1) Executive Committee of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
(2) International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association.
(3) Regional Association of Oil and Natural Gas Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
(4) World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
(5) Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development.

In 2010, Petrobras was awarded in the 2010 Carbon Leadership Awards, organized by British magazine The New Economy, in the "Best Emissions Reporting" category. The award recognizes companies that stand out both in reducing and in disclosing their carbon emissions.

Risks & opportunities

In its planning processes, Petrobras analyses the potential impacts climate change may have on its business. Based on the 2030 Corporate Scenarios, the company seeks to predict the macro-trends related to these issues. The scenarios involve aspects regarding production processes and energy consumption habits, international negotiations, nations climate and energy policies in force and their effects on the carbon market.

International agreements and national and regional legislation and regulatory measures designed to minimize greenhouse gas emissions are in different stages of discussion and implementation around the world. The National Policy on Climate Change was regulated in December 2010. As a result, Brazil voluntarily set a limit for its GHG emissions.

The imposition of fiscal, taxation or other measures to discourage fossil fuel use or to promote low-carbon technologies may have negative impacts on the oil market, but can also create market opportunities for renewable fuels.

In the technology area, Petrobras' Research and Development Center (Cenpes) also assesses the risks associated with climate change, partnering with universities, government institutions, and other research centers. It also contributes to the development and operation of the Thematic Network on Climate Change, which is focused on technical cooperation and financial support for science and technology organizations nationwide. Created in 2008 by the National Institute for Space Research and the Ministry of Science and Technology, the network comprises 12 institutions and aims to develop national capacity in the carbon capture, transport, and storage areas. Between 2006 and 2009, the company invested $30 million in climate change and carbon sequestration research technologies. Additional investments of $200 million are expected for the 2010-2015 period.

The R&D programs to enable the capture, sequestration, transport, and geological storage of carbon dioxide are: Technological Program for Climate Change (Proclima), created in 2007, and Technological Program for CO2 Management for the Pre-Salt Development (PRO-CO2), created in 2009, with a mediumterm perspective and focused on CO2 emissions in the development of the Santos Basin Pre-Salt Layer.

Since the 1970's, Petrobras has operated in several stages of the ethanol value chain through the National Ethanol Program (Proálcool). Additionally, it created the Biofuels Technology Program (technological development for first- and second-generation biofuels), which is expected to receive $530 million in investments between 2010 and 2014.

Extreme weather events, which can be worsened by global warming, may potentially affect:

  • Global operations in deep waters, which can be affected by sea level rise and by more intense and frequent hurricanes and storms;
  • Road, maritime, inland waterway and pipeline transport activities, which carry large volumes of oil, oil products, gas, and biofuels;
  • The availability of water, an essential resource for many of the company's operations;
  • Biofuel production, in the event of a change in rainfall patterns that could affect the production of the agricultural inputs that are used as feedstock for these products.

Extreme weather events may cause facility insurance premiums to surge and demand additional investments in order to ensure the security and integrity of such facilities.

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