Rio de Janeiro (EFE).- The president of the Brazilian oil company, Jean Paul Prates, affirms that one of the company’s priorities during the government of the progressive Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be the development of gigantic offshore wind farms.
Prates, in the first press conference he gave after assuming command of the Brazilian giant, explained that, despite the fact that Petrobras will not abandon its main assets or the exploitation of hydrocarbons, it will bet on renewables to start an energy transition process in Brazil.
“The businesses in wind energy and green hydrogen are the new frontiers and we will invest in them responsibly, seeking partnerships with large companies that already have experience in the sector,” said the licensed senator at the press conference he gave in Rio de Janeiro. janeiro.
Prates said that Brazil has great potential for wind power generation in offshore farms and that the company, with its gigantic marine hydrocarbon exploitation platforms, already has experience in building structures to produce offshore.
Petrobras will maintain the exploitation of hydrocarbons
He clarified that, despite the urgent need to intensify decarbonization and move towards a low carbon economy, Petrobras will not abandon oil and gas production because it is still necessary to supply energy and to generate wealth for Brazil.
“Oil and gas production is not going to disappear overnight. You will still have to live with renewable sources for a long time. We are going to seek diversification but without neglecting important businesses”, he affirmed.
In this sense, he affirmed that the company will continue to dedicate most of its investments to the production of hydrocarbons in the pre-salt, the horizon of exploitation in very deep waters that has made Brazil an important exporter of crude oil and that is the most important to the company.
“Nor will Petrobras refrain from investing in new frontiers, such as the equatorial margin,” he added, referring to the gigantic reserves discovered by Guyana and Suriname in areas close to the mouth of the Amazon River and that Brazil only recently began exploring.
record profits
According to Prates, when the pre-salt was discovered two decades ago, there was mistrust about the feasibility of producing oil in such deep waters and under a two-kilometer-thick layer of salt, and the same is true now when betting on wind power.
“Today the pre-salt accounts for most of Petrobras’ production and helped us generate results like last year’s record,” he acknowledged, referring to the historical profit that the company obtained in 2022, of 188,328 million reais (36,286 million dollars ), value 76.6% higher than in 2021.
“The Petrobras that won the challenge of producing in the pre-salt will also be the protagonist in the low carbon economy. A new stage begins for the company. We face skepticism from all sides but we are going to overcome it with a strategic plan that will strengthen the company in the future”, he added.
Prates refrained from detailing Petrobras’ projects for offshore wind generation, but the company had already reported last year that, among other things, it is studying a partnership with the Norwegian Equinor to install a park with the capacity to generate 4 gigawatts of energy in the river coastline.
According to official studies, Brazil has the potential to generate up to 700 gigawatts of offshore wind power.
Petrobras to adopt new policy after Lula’s criticism
The Petrobras president said that the company will define new policies to set fuel prices and to distribute dividends to its shareholders, both of which are highly questioned by the head of state, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Prates assured that the company is waiting for the new members of the company’s Administrative Council to take office to start a discussion on these two policies, so the new guidelines can be announced in May.
The current parity policy, which defines the price of fuels in the Brazilian market according to that of the international market, has been the object of harsh criticism from Lula since the progressive leader took up his third term in January.
According to the head of state, the Brazilian consumer has to pay a very high price for fuel, which is defined abroad, despite the fact that Petrobras produces it at a much lower value.
Lula’s criticisms
The socialist leader made a hard attack against the oil company, which has shares traded on the stock market but whose controller is the Government, for the record number of dividends that it distributed to its shareholders and the low levels of investment.
Lula affirmed that Petrobras “instead of investing, decided to grace the shareholders” with the distribution of 215,000 million reais (about 41,400 million dollars) in dividends, “when it should have invested half” of that figure in the Brazilian industry .
Petrobras, which announced record profits of 188,328 million reais (about 36,286 million dollars) in 2022, only invested 9,848 million dollars in the year, mainly in production and exploration activities.
Although he did not anticipate what the new pricing policy will be, Prates said that the parity model with the international market will cease to be a “dogma” for the company and that the company will take into account other criteria, such as demand and logistics. .
“Petrobras is going to pursue the best price for the company, for the shareholder and for the consumer,” said the licensed senator, indicating that he will seek a consensus between high prices that benefit shareholders and low prices that benefit the consumer.
Petrobras’ response
Prates said that Petrobras cannot be forced to charge the price that suits its competitor.
In this sense, he implied that the company will be able to charge lower prices than those of the market in regions that have refineries and adequate logistics for the distribution of fuels or for clients that it wants to attract with more competitive prices.
“My priority is to capture more market and be the best price option for the customer who needs my product. That’s what we’re going to do,” he said.
He admitted that Petrobras has room to reduce prices since its production cost is low but that, in any case, its values will not be far from those of the international market. “It is a reference that the whole world follows and from which we cannot be too distant in order not to generate distortions”, he stressed.
He added that the dividend distribution policy also has to be modified due to the distortions it already generates and said that the total distributed last year (215,000 million reais or 41,400 million dollars) is equivalent to 114% of the cash generation available of the company
According to Prates, the company’s future is unviable if it continues to distribute 114% of what it has available from its earnings and stops investing.