Vale, Petrobras announce partnership to test B24 marine biofuel

Vale and Petrobras, through Petrobras Singapore, announced April 24 a commercial partnership to supply a ship chartered by the mining company with very-low sulfur (VLS) B24, a marine fuel with 24 percent second-generation biodiesel.

In collaboration with the company Oldendorff Carriers, the bulk carrier Luise Oldendorff was fueled in Singapore April 22 for testing purposes.

The product was formulated by Petrobras Singapore itself in its locally leased tanks by blending 76 percent fossil fuel oil from refineries in the Petrobras system and 24 percent used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME), a biofuel originating from the processing of used cooking oil (UCO) purchased in the region.

Petrobras Singapore has EU certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System GmbH, which guarantees that its product meets the strict sustainability criteria, a requirement that accompanies the entire biofuel logistics chain involved in this process.

The biobunker test continues the strategic partnership between Vale and Petrobras, which provides for the supply of products focused on competitiveness and the advancement of the decarbonization agenda.

“We are developing increasingly sustainable fuels and honoring our commitment to decarbonize our activities,” said Petrobras President Magda Chambriard. “The partnership with Vale is another achievement of Petrobras’ goal of improving the company’s production capacity and logistics structure to deliver greener products to the market and reinforce our decarbonization strategy.”

Vale CEO Gustavo Pimenta added, “Vale has a firm commitment to promote the decarbonization of its operations. In this context, our shipping area has evaluated several scenarios to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in maritime transport, which includes the development of multifuel solutions for new and existing ships that transport our products globally. Petrobras is a very important partner in this process.”

The tests with alternative fuels on ships chartered by Vale are part of a series of initiatives by the mining company to foster and support decarbonization in global maritime transport, in line with the International Maritime Organization emission-reduction targets.

Vale has a goal of reducing its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 33 percent by 2030.

The company has also committed to a 15 percent reduction in scope 3 emissions by 2035, related to the value chain, of which most emissions from shipping are part.

For Petrobras, the commercialization of the bunker with renewable content is in line with the strategy of developing and offering new products towards a low-carbon market and innovating to generate value for the business, enabling solutions in new energies and decarbonization.

Petrobras 2025-’29 business plan foresees an investment of USD$16.3 billion in energy-transition initiatives encompassing, in addition to low-carbon energy projects, projects for the decarbonization of operations and R&D in all segments.

This volume represents 15 percent of the total capex forecast for the five-year period (against 11 percent on the previous plan) and an increase of 42 percent compared to the previous plan.