Petrobras eyes SAF production at two sites from 2029

Brazilian state-owned energy corporation Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) said it is investing in construction of dedicated biorefining plants for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the Presidente Bernardes Refinery (RPBC) in Cubatão and Boaventura Energy Complex (BEC).

The plants at the RPBC and BEC sites will have production capacity of 15,000bpd and 19,000bpd respectively. Both plants are scheduled to begin operations after 2029, according to its recently published Sustainability Report.

The company further said that it is also working on exploring the production of SAF through the alcohol-to-jet pathway using ethanol as the raw material.

Brazil is world’s second largest ethanol producer accounting for nearly one-fourth of the total production.

The country was also a leader in sustainable biofuels economy using ethanol derived from sugarcane. Brazilian ethanol also boasts an extremely lower CI score. The country’s ethanol producers have supplied the raw material to the US-based LanzaJet to be processed into SAF at the world’s first ATJ site.

In addition, Brazilian government is also putting its weight behind developing a domestic SAF production base.

Earlier in 2019, the country announced the National Biofuels Policy (RenovaBio), a comprehensive framework designed to reduce the carbon intensity of its transportation fuel matrix by increasing the production and utilisation of biofuels.

Building on that, in 2024, the Brazilian development bank BNDES, and government funding agency Finep, announced a combined investment of 6bn Brazilian reais ($1.1bn) to support local production of SAF and sustainable marine fuels.