Rio de Janeiro – Petrobras has developed a program for the capture, use, and geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in its pre-salt oil and gas fields; the initiative is the largest in the world in operation in annual reinjected volume and also pioneer in ultra-deep waters.
The gas from the pre-salt fields contains natural gas and CO2 in its composition. The Carbon Capture Utilization Storage (CCUS) technology encompasses the separation of CO2 and natural gas and the subsequent reinjection of the CO2 in the reservoir, where it is stored.
The reinjection was a solution found by the company to meet the commitment of not venting the CO2 present in natural gas into the atmosphere. This is one of the initiatives allowing the company to produce low-carbon oil in the pre-salt fields.
Petrobras reported the volume of CO2 reinjected into reservoirs has been increasing every year. According to the Ultra Deep Water executive manager, Luiz Carlos Higa, “in the first nine months of 2021 alone, 6.7 million tonnes of CO2 were reinjected, equivalent to almost the entire 2020 volume. The program has allowed us to increase production efficiency and, therefore, reduce CO2 emissions per barrel produced,” he said.
Progress
The first deployment took place in 2008 and, by September 2021, the company had reinjected a total of 28.1 million tonnes of CO2 into the reservoirs. The result aligns with Petrobras’ 10 sustainability commitments, including reaching a cumulative volume of 40 million tonnes of CO2 reinjected by 2025.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
