Petrobras publishes first Call for Proposals to purchase biomethane

This Monday (1/6), Petrobras is publishing its first call for proposals for acquisition of biomethane. The initiative is in line with the company's goals of decarbonizing its operations and acting with a robust and competitive portfolio of gas offers with products with a lower carbon footprint. The initiative provides for the receipt of offers for firm contracts with deliveries starting in 2026, contract terms of up to 11 years, and receipt at different delivery points, such as refineries, thermoelectric plants, in the transportation network and in the distribution network. The process also seeks to survey the commercial conditions offered by the market as a result of the decarbonization requirement created by Law 14.993/2024, known as the Fuel for the Future Law.

“According to the concepts of the Just Energy Transition, if the company gets positive signals from producers about the conditions of competitiveness and supply of this input, Petrobras can acquire volumes 3 to 4 times greater than the average daily production of biomethane in the country, which is around 220,000 m³/day, according to public records from the ANP,” explains Petrobras’s director of Energy Transition and Sustainability, Maurício Tolmasquim.”

The process encourages the development of the entire biomethane ecosystem in various parts of the country, as well as having the potential to help make investments in the production chain feasible, which involves agro-industry, especially the sugar-alcohol and livestock segments, and landfills, contributing not only to the generation of clean energy, but also to waste management processes in these areas, with wide-ranging benefits for society as a whole.

Prerequisites

The first stage of the call will be non-binding and will require the submission of commercial proposals, accompanied by information such as the origin of the biomethane, the means of transport, any production seasonality and the planned timetable, in the case of projects that are not yet operating. The next stage, scheduled for May 2025, will be commercial negotiations for the purchase of biomethane. The raw materials must be accompanied by a certificate of guarantee of origin and meet the requirements and quality standards of the ANP. Proposals will also be accepted for the purchase of certificates of guarantee of origin, which makes it possible for small-scale producers to take part or those located in places where there is no logistical possibility for delivery to the points accepted by Petrobras.

Biomethane comes from the process of purifying biogas, produced from raw materials of organic origin, and is essentially made up of methane. The product is specified according to ANP standards and has characteristics that make it interchangeable with natural gas of fossil origin in its various applications. It can be used to generate renewable energy, as an input in the decarbonization of industry, in the production of low-carbon hydrogen, as well as in biorefining processes and fertilizer production.

All the terms for participating in the call for proposals, such as the delivery points, qualification requirements, general terms of the contract, timetable, among others, are described in the regulations available here. The call process will be carried out via the Petronect eProcurement Portal. Companies not registered on the Petronect Portal should access the website www.petronect.com.br, option “Register with Petrobras”, where they can start their registration.