EQUINOR
1) Repórter Brasil/Danwatch
Equinor has a stated ambition to be “a leading company in the energy transition” in Brazil, “providing societies with the energy they need – in a secure, affordable, and sustainable way”. In Brazil, Equinor also brands itself as “committed to contributing to a fair and inclusive energy transition”. While Equinor has in fact made some substantial investments in solar and onshore wind in Brazil, such as the 531 MW Mendubim solar plant or the 223 MW Serra da Babilônia wind farm, your fossil fuel operations and investments in Brazil are very extensive. According to Rystad Energy, in 2024 Equinor produced 27.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) in the country, all of it from unconventional sources like ultra-deepwater and extra heavy oil. Equinor plans to significantly increase its oil & gas production in Brazil over the coming years. Current developments include the Raia and Bacalhau ultra-deepwater assets. Equinor states that each of the projects has an accumulated production potential of more than 1,000 mmboe. Additionally, your company is still investing millions of US dollars to explore for new ultra-deepwater assets in Brazil.
We have talked to experts and critics who said that Equinor should not call itself contributing to or leading on the energy transition while it expands its fossil fuel product. Leading or contributing to this transition implies to push renewables as much as possible and to only use existing oil and gas resources.
Do you wish to comment on this critique? Why does Equinor expand its fossil fuel operations so extensively in a country like Brazil, where there is so much opportunity for renewable energy?
EQUINOR
Equinor is dedicated to long-term value creation in of the goals of the Paris Agreement. We aspire to take a leading role in the energy transition and achieve net zero in 2050. Our strategy focuses on three areas: optimised oil and gas production, high value growth in renewables, and new market opportunities in low carbon solutions. This approach aims to capture the opportunities in the energy transition.
In Brazil, we are already a diversified energy company in the country.
We are continuously working with operators and partners to reduce emissions from operating fields, and we are introducing new, cutting edge technology on new projects like Bacalhau and Raia to keep emissions at the lowest possible level.
We are also increasing investments within renewables in Brazil.
In 2018 operations started at the Apodi Complex n Ceará, Equinor’s first ever solar project.
In March of last year, the Mendubim Complex, in Rio Grande do Norte, also started operations.
In 2023 we acquired Rio Energy, a leading company within onshore renewable energy in Brazil.
In June last year we took final investment decision for the first hybrid complex in our global portfolio. The Serra da Babilônia (SdB) Hybrid Complex in Bahia, will enable complementary wind and solar energy production.
We will continue to assess business opportunities in Brazil, both within renewables and oil and gas.
2) Repórter Brasil/Danwatch
According to critics, the risk assessment for the Bacalhau project, carried out by Prooceano on behalf of Equinor, underestimates the risk of an oil spill affecting the vulnerable and protected coastal areas closest to the Bacalhau oil field. The assessment, they claim, ignores actual data on currents and tides in the area, as well as data from GPS-drifters that were let out from the location of the Bacalhau oil field and ended up at shore, and instead relies on the ROMS-model to conclude that there is no substantial risk of an oil spill reaching the shore. Critics also said that the study had a very poor quality.
Do you wish to comment on this critique? What is Equinor doing to limit the risk of oil spills from this ultra deep water Bacalhau project?
EQUINOR
As part of the permitting process, an oil spill modelling was developed. This modelling followed legal requirements and considered as worst case scenario the sinking of FPSO Bacalhau full of oil. The modelling was developed by a third-party company (ProOceano) by using an international standard and a software largely used globally (Oscar). As modelling input, a robust metocean database (wind, current and waves) was used, formed by data collected during several years of environmental/scientific campaigns/projects in Brazil plus the data collected during two years by metocean buoys installed at the Bacalhau field. Equinor has analyzed the Bacalhau oil in a referenced laboratory based in Norway (Sintef) to ensure an accurate result of the oil modelling. The oil modelling report was assessed and approved by IBAMA as part of the Feasibility License issuance.
3) Repórter Brasil/Danwatch
Representatives from Fishermen and Caiçara (traditional peoples from Brazil’s coastline) communities claim not to have been included by Equinor in the process of public consultation conducted about the Bacalhau oil field. According to them, only one public hearing has been conducted, and it was online during the pandemic, which hindered participation of communities that are not digitally literate.
Was public participation Equinor’s concern? How did Equinor make sure that populations surrounding the drilling area are aware of the risks generated by the company’s activities?
EQUINOR
The virtual public hearing was a decision made by IBAMA, in accordance with the State of Public Calamity (Decree 06/2020) caused by the COVID Pandemic. The event was communicated widely to the local communities, executing a communication plan approved by IBAMA with ments and announcements in newspapers, on radio and through site visits.
The event was broadcasted on a dedicated website and YouTube. The Public Hearing took nine hours. 212 questions were responded to by Equinor and 43 oral manifestations were performed during the hearing. Around 500 people participated, using different channels (YouTube or zoom) with a peak of ~300 people watching simultaneously. The public hearing is still available at YouTube at this link.The Bacalhau Permitting process which ed the issuance of the Feasibility License was performed in accordance with strict legislation. In order to ensure a transparent process, the São Paulo State Public prosecutor (MPF-SP) was invited to attend the Public Hearing on August 05th 2021. As a consequence, a civil inquiry was opened on August 12th 2021 for MPF-SP to follow up the process and ensure full compliance. Equinor and IBAMA responded to all questions raised by MPF-SP in 2021-2022 without any further questions or concerns raised.
Petrogal
Enquanto parceiros minoritários no consórcio do projeto Bacalhau, remeteremos os comentários específicos ao operador, neste caso a Equinor.
Leia a matéria completa: ‘Nunca vieram aqui’: projeto petrolífero aprovado na pandemia preocupa caiçaras
