Environmental sustainability in the oil industry

An analysis of Petrobras' energy transition strategies in the period 2003-2023

Abstract

The energy transition, driven by the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, main source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change, highlights the urgency of transforming the global energy matrix, presenting significant challenges to the oil industry. Analyzing Petrobras’ performance as a national oil company, provides an interpretative framework to read the political position of federal administrations regarding global warming mitigation, as reflected in the company’s corporate sustainability guidelines and its operational practices. This article aims to demonstrate that Petrobras, during the period from 2003 to 2023, advanced in the decarbonization of its operations and in the adoption of Carbon Capture Utilization Storage (CCUS) technologies, but moving away of the investments in renewable energy when compared to other major oil companies. Thereby, the alignment of public policies with Petrobras’s corporate strategies becomes essential to support the company’s environmental sustainability efforts, especially by mitigating or avoiding the impacts of political transitions in the leadership, which have alternated between pro-market and interventionist approaches.