Petrobras CCUS Infrastructure: $16.3 B Plan, 4.6 MTPA with Shell, and São Tomé Pilot Project (2021-2025)

4.6 MTPA Capacity, Petrobras CCUS Adoption for EOR and Dedicated Storage

In 2025, Petrobras solidified its dual-track Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) strategy, leveraging its world-leading offshore Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) reinjection capacity while simultaneously launching its first dedicated geological storage project to create a new decarbonization business line. This move formalizes CCUS as a strategic pillar, transitioning it from a purely operational necessity for managing associated gas in pre-salt fields to a core component of the company’s future growth and risk mitigation.

• Between 2021 and 2024, Petrobras scaled its CCUS operations primarily for EOR in its pre-salt fields, establishing a massive infrastructure base supported by its fleet of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units.
• The year 2025 marked a significant expansion and strategic pivot. The company increased its offshore CO 2 reinjection capacity from 3 to 4.6 million tons per year (MTPA), cementing its status as the largest offshore CCUS operator globally.
• Critically, in September 2025, Petrobras approved the São Tomé CCS Pilot Project, its first initiative designed to inject 100, 000 metric tons of CO 2 annually into a saline aquifer. This project is not linked to oil recovery and signals the company’s intent to develop standalone carbon storage services.
• By the end of 2025, Petrobras was concurrently advancing its pipeline of future storage hubs, confirming active technical feasibility studies for CCUS projects across five different Brazilian states, moving beyond its established offshore operational area.

Petrobras $16.3 B Low-Carbon Investment and Future CAPEX (2025-2030)

Petrobras backed its CCUS ambitions with substantial capital in 2025, allocating billions within its multi-year plans to fund both the expansion of existing EOR-linked operations and the development of new dedicated storage hubs. This financial commitment uses robust cash flow from its core exploration and production business to de-risk and scale decarbonization technologies that are central to its long-term strategy.

• The 2025–2029 business plan, which was active throughout the year, allocated $16.3 billion to CCUS and other low-carbon projects out of a total $111 billion investment package, representing a significant commitment to its energy transition initiatives.
• In November 2025, the company reinforced this direction by approving its 2026-2030 Business Plan, which earmarked a total capex of $109 billion, continuing the strategic focus on incorporating low-carbon solutions.
• Despite the large absolute figures, these low-carbon initiatives are projected to represent only 1% of Petrobras’s total energy supply by 2030. This highlights a dual strategy where fossil fuel production remains the dominant priority, with CCUS serving primarily to abate its operational emissions.

Table: Petrobras Strategic Investment Plans (2025)

Strategic Partnerships, Petrobras Mero Field JV with Shell and Total Energies

Petrobras’s large-scale CCUS operations are executed through its long-standing joint ventures in the pre-salt fields, where major international partners like Shell and Total Energies share in the investment and operational model for CO 2 reinjection. These partnerships are fundamental to the success of the program, combining global expertise and capital to manage one of the world’s most complex offshore production environments.

• The Mero pre-salt field, a key site for CO 2 reinjection, is operated by Petrobras (38.6% stake) in a joint venture with Shell Brasil (19.3%), Total Energies (19.3%), CNPC (9.65%), and CNOOC (9.65%). This consortium forms the backbone of the company’s high-capacity CCUS-EOR activities.
• While the Mero JV represents large-scale deployment, Petrobras’s history of collaboration includes smaller-scale research. A 2025 report referenced an earlier pilot system operated by the Carbon Capture Project (CCP) at a Petrobras facility that captured 1 ton of CO 2 per day, highlighting foundational R&D efforts that preceded current commercial operations.

Decarbonization Imperatives Driving New Oil & Gas Revenue

This chart explains the ‘why’ behind the strategic partnerships discussed in the section. The ‘Decarbonization Imperatives’ are the driving force compelling companies like Petrobras, Shell, and Total Energies to collaborate on large-scale CCUS projects.

(Source: MarketsandMarkets)

Table: Petrobras Key CCUS Partnerships (2025)

Brazil Focus, Petrobras CCUS Leadership in the Santos Basin and Beyond

Petrobras’s CCUS activities are geographically concentrated in Brazil, leveraging the unique geology of the offshore Santos Basin for EOR, while the 2025 approval of the São Tomé project in Rio de Janeiro signals the start of developing new onshore storage regions. This “in-country” focus allows the company to capitalize on its deep operational knowledge of local geology and regulatory environments, creating a significant home-field advantage.

• Prior to 2025, the company’s CCUS efforts were almost exclusively located in the offshore pre-salt fields of the Santos Basin, where CO 2 is separated from natural gas and reinjected for EOR.
• In September 2025, Petrobras initiated a geographic diversification by approving the São Tomé CCS Pilot Project in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro. This marks the company’s first foray into onshore, dedicated geological storage in a saline aquifer.
• Looking forward, Petrobras confirmed in April 2025 that it was evaluating the feasibility of developing CCUS projects in five additional Brazilian states, indicating a clear strategy to build a nationwide network of carbon storage hubs beyond its traditional offshore domain.

Oil & Gas Leads Carbon Capture Market

This chart reinforces the section’s theme of Petrobras’s leadership. It shows that the company operates in the primary sector driving CCUS adoption, providing a strong foundation for its prominent role in Brazil and the Santos Basin.

(Source: Global Market Insights)

Commercial Scale, Petrobras Membrane Separation and Saline Aquifer Storage

In 2025, Petrobras operated CCUS technology at two distinct maturity levels: a commercially scaled, world-leading membrane separation and reinjection process offshore, and an emerging pilot-phase approach for dedicated saline aquifer storage onshore. This dual approach allows the company to optimize mature technologies for immediate emissions reduction while investing in the next generation of storage solutions to build future business lines.

• The offshore membrane separation technology used in the Santos Basin is at full commercial scale. In 2025, its operational capacity was expanded to 4.6 MTPA, making it the largest project of its kind globally and validating its technical and economic viability.
• The cumulative reinjection of 14.2 million tons of CO 2 by September 2025 serves as a massive validation point for the long-term integrity and scalability of CO 2 storage linked to EOR in pre-salt reservoirs.
• The approval of the São Tomé CCS Pilot Project moves dedicated saline aquifer storage from the R&D and feasibility stage into the pilot and demonstration phase for Petrobras. Its successful execution is critical for validating this storage method for Brazil’s industrial regions.

Chart Models CCUS Technology Deployment Lifecycle

The chart modeling the CCUS technology deployment lifecycle complements the section’s focus on Petrobras’s specific technologies, like membrane separation and saline aquifer storage. It helps to position these technologies within their broader development and commercialization stages.

(Source: Nature)

SWOT Analysis, Petrobras CCUS Strengths and Long-Term Risks

Petrobras’s unmatched operational experience in large-scale offshore CO 2 injection provides a formidable strength, but its strategic dependence on oil and gas cash flow and the slow diversification into new energy sources present long-term transition risks. The year 2025 was pivotal, as the company took concrete steps to convert its operational expertise into a new strategic opportunity with dedicated CCS.

CCUS Projects Lag Behind Planned Capture Goals

This chart visually represents a key long-term risk and industry-wide challenge, directly relevant to the ‘Weaknesses’ and ‘Threats’ components of the SWOT analysis for Petrobras’s CCUS initiatives.

(Source: Clean Air Task Force)

Table: SWOT Analysis for Petrobras Carbon Capture Initiatives

Petrobras 2026 Outlook: Execution of the São Tomé CCS Pilot is Key

The primary watch item for Petrobras in the year ahead is the execution of the São Tomé CCS pilot, as its progress will validate the company’s strategy of expanding from EOR-linked CCUS to a standalone carbon storage service provider. This project represents the first major test of its ambition to build a new decarbonization business line independent of oil production.

• If Petrobras successfully awards engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts for the São Tomé project in early 2026, watch for accelerated timelines and potential announcements of follow-on projects.
• If the feasibility studies in five Brazilian states yield positive results, watch for one or more Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) for new, larger-scale carbon storage hubs, signaling a major expansion of its CCUS portfolio.
• This could be happening as the Brazilian government finalizes the rules for its national carbon market (SBCE), creating the economic incentives needed to underwrite these large, capital-intensive carbon capture projects.

CCUS Market Projected for Strong Growth by 2030

The projection of strong CCUS market growth by 2030 underscores the strategic importance of the São Tomé CCS pilot mentioned in the section. A successful execution in 2026 is crucial for Petrobras to capitalize on the anticipated market expansion.

(Source: MarketsandMarkets)

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of Petrobras’s CCUS commercialization. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• What is actually happening with the São Tomé CCS Pilot Project since its September 2025 approval?
• Petrobras investments and funding. Is the scale-up to 4.6 MTPA of CCUS capacity on track for its operational targets?
• What are the opportunities for dedicated carbon storage-as-a-service in the Brazilian market, beyond EOR?

This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.

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