New Petrobras CEO Says to Drive Energy Shift while Expanding Oil and Gas

Friday, January 27, 2023

The new chief executive of Petrobras told employees the oil company will drive Brazil's transition to renewable energy, while keeping its oil and gas expansion on track.

The first remarks by Jean Paul Prates as CEO, in a video to employees, mark a strategy shift for the state-run firm, which has spent the last few years divesting assets to focus on its most profitable offshore oil fields and boosting dividends.

Former senator Prates, who took over as CEO on Thursday after being selected by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said the new outlook for Petrobras is the result of an urgent global demand to mitigate climate change.

"The size and trajectory of Petrobras means that it naturally occupies the role of major driver of Brazil's energy transition," Prates said in the video sent on late Thursday.

Still, he vowed that Petrobras will continue to excel in oil and gas production, while seeking new frontiers for exploration.

Prates cited a stretch of Brazil's northern coast as promising for both petroleum exploration and renewable energy.

"We will work so that Petrobras continues its journey in the oil and gas industry, but also walks new paths pursuing decarbonization, accelerating profitable diversification and a fair energy transition," he said in the video, which he shared.


(Reuters - Reporting by Peter Frontini and Marta Nogueira; Editing by Brad Haynes and Alexander Smith)

Categories: Energy Production South America

Related Stories

First Production Starts at ADNOC’s Belbazem Offshore Block

Woodside Completes Sale of its Scarborough Interest

Exxon Mobil Continues to Ramp Up LNG Portfolio

Current News

Welsh Port Steps Closer to Becoming Floating Wind Hub

Baker Hughes: US Drillers Cut Oil and Gas Rigs for Second Week In A Row

Seaway7 Gets Baltica 2 Offshore Wind Job

First Gas Export to Denmark from Tyra II Expected Today

Subscribe for OE Digital E‑News