Eric Watkins
Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 -- Brazil's Petroleo Brazileiro SA (Petrobras) has signed several agreements with EDP Energias do Brasil and Portugal's Galp Energia for cooperation in biofuels, natural gas, power generation, and exploration and production projects.
Petrobras and Galp said they will evaluate the possibility of forming and maintaining partnerships so that the Portuguese firm can operate shallow water oil blocks in the Campos, Santos, and Espirito Santo basins.
Galp and Petrobras's biofuel division, Petrobras Biocombustivel, also agreed to undertake feasibility studies for a palm and sunflower oil complex in Bahia state. Palm and sunflower oils are raw materials used in biodiesel production.
The project, equally held by Petrobras and Galp, will be split in two stages, each seeing production of 300,000 tonnes/year of vegetable oil in Brazil and 250,000 tpy of second-generation biodiesel, 50% in Portugal and 50% in a location yet to be defined.
Petrobras also signed a document with EDP (the Brazilian unit of Energias de Portugal) establishing a 2-year partnership for power generation from hydroelectric, wind-powered, gas-powered, and biomass-based plants.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
