Brazilian giant Petrobras, most famous for its deepwater oil and gas plays, is turning its attention to offshore wind and has signed an agreement to conduct a feasibility study for a pilot offshore wind project with the government of Rio Grande do Norte state.
The MoU foresees that the Brazilian state would align the project with state programmes and policies, supporting the processes needed for studies and research for the development and implementation of the project.
Petrobras will conduct the study on the possible environmental and social impacts resulting from the project’s installation in a way which would make the pilot project viable.
The Brazilian company currently has the greatest potential in offshore wind generation projects under study in the country in terms of capacity. It has requested the start of the licensing process for projects in 10 areas with a total potential of 23 GW.
Seven of those areas are in the northeast, totalling 14.3 GW of capacity. The company is also carrying out studies in seven areas in partnership with Equinor, totalling a further 14.5 GW of total potential.
Furthermore, the state-owned company is conducting the largest wind mapping campaign in Brazil. Last year, the company completed a decade of offshore wind measurements and is intensifying measurement campaigns in some locations in the Brazilian sea.
“Petrobras has been establishing partnerships with institutions and companies to acquire knowledge and training in the offshore wind segment to evaluate future projects and opportunities in this segment. Rio Grande do Norte has a natural vocation, an excellent wind regime for offshore wind projects and we believe that the state’s vocation should be capitalised on,” said Petrobras president Jean Paul Prates.
