Brazilian giants Vale and Petrobras test biofuel blend on bulk carrier

Brazilian mining company Vale and compatriot oil and gas giant Petrobras have formed a commercial partnership to test a biofuel blend with 24% second-generation biodiesel on a Vale-chartered ship.

As part of this partnership, the bulk carrier Luise Oldendorff, chartered from Oldendorff Carriers, was fueled with very low sulfur (VLS) B24 for testing purposes on April 22 in Singapore.

The fuel was formulated by Petrobras Singapore in its locally leased tanks, by blending 76% fossil fuel oil from the refineries of the Petrobras System and 24% UCOME, a biofuel originating from the processing of used cooking oil (UCO), purchased in the region.

The product is ISCC EU-certified, which means it meets the strict sustainability criteria, a requirement that accompanies the entire biofuel logistics chain involved in this process, Petrobras explained.

The biofuel bunker test is a continuation of the strategic partnership between Vale and Petrobras focused on competitiveness and advancing the decarbonization agenda, including the development of sustainable fuels.

“We are developing increasingly sustainable fuels and honoring our commitment to decarbonize our activities. The partnership with Vale is another achievement of Petrobras’ goal of improving the company’s production capacity and logistics structure, to deliver greener products to the market and reinforce our decarbonization strategy,” said Petrobras President, Magda Chambriard.

Vale’s CEO, Gustavo Pimenta, commented: “Vale has a firm commitment to promote the decarbonization of its operations. In this context, our shipping area has evaluated several scenarios to reduce GHG emissions in maritime transport, which includes the development of multi-fuel solutions for new and existing ships that transport our products globally. Petrobras is a very important partner in this process.”

For the mining giant, this test is part of a series of alternative fuels trials on its chartered ships under the initiative to foster and support decarbonization in global maritime transport, in line with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) emission reduction targets.

Vale has a goal of reducing its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 33% by 2030. The company has also committed to a 15% reduction in scope 3 emissions by 2035, related to the value chain, of which most emissions from shipping are part.

Petrobras is also working on the commercialization of the bunker with renewable content in line with the strategy of developing and offering new products, towards a low-carbon market, and innovating to generate value for the business, enabling solutions in new energies and decarbonization.

Petrobras 2025-2029 Business Plan foresees an investment of $16.3 billion in energy transition initiatives, encompassing, in addition to low-carbon energy projects, projects for decarbonizing operations and research and development (R&D) that permeates all segments.