Waste management and sustainable decommissioning

Since 2013, we have adopted circular economy practices in our activities to prevent the generation of solid waste, particularly focusing on the reuse of oily sludge in the production of shale oil and petroleum green coke. These practices have allowed us to reduce the generation of hazardous waste by more than half, from 192,000 tons to 89,800 tons over 10 years, minimizing their potential negative impacts on the environment and people*. 

Routinely, studies are conducted as part of the environmental licensing process, and preventive, mitigating, and compensatory measures are defined during the installation, operation, and decommissioning project phases.

We invested approximately BRL 49 million in research and development projects at Petrobras Research Center (Cenpes) focused on technologies related to waste reduction, reuse, and valorization.

The governance of waste permeates all levels of the company, with a Thematic Waste Forum composed of company experts that reports to the Environmental Commission. This commission ultimately reports to the company’s Board of Directors.

*(We report the waste information in thousands of tons in this chapter for a better understanding of the quantitative data)

In 2024, the generation of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste in our processes was 89,800 and 162,400 tons, respectively, totaling 252,200 tons of waste. The generation of process waste in 2024 was higher than in 2023 due to an increase in non-continuous cleaning and maintenance activities. 

In order to achieve our new ESG commitment regarding waste, we are planning new circularity actions, operational optimizations, sustainable procurement, and training and awareness for the workforce, aiming to generate a maximum of 195,000 tons of process waste by 2030

In 2024, a total of 83,900 tons and 143,000 tons of hazardous and non-hazardous waste from our processes, respectively, were disposed of. The proper management of our solid waste allowed for 92% of the mass of hazardous waste generated in the processes to be directed to RRR routes. The total amount of hazardous process waste sent to non-RRR routes was 7,100 tons, which is below the corporate established limit for the year (12,100 tons). 

Also, in 2024, we were able to achieve that 65% of the mass of non-hazardous process waste was directed to RRR routes. The disposal of non-hazardous process waste to non-RRR routes was 50,600 tons, which is below the limit set for the year (82,600 tons). 

In total, 75% of the mass of hazardous and non-hazardous process solid waste was directed to RRR routes, reaffirming our efforts to adopt circular economy practices and putting us on track to meet our new ESG commitment of directing 80% of solid process waste to RRR routes by 2030.

In 2024, 1,800 tons of cuttings and aqueous base fluids were generated, and 1,600 tons were disposed of from exploration and production processes in onshore operations40 or landed from offshore operations . We also generated 800 tons and disposed of 700 tons of cuttings and non-aqueous base fluids. Environmentally appropriate treatment or final disposal alternatives for these materials were adopted.

In 2024, 42.3 thousand tons were generated, and 42.9 thousand tons of oily sludge were destined for disposal. For this portion that is not reused as raw material for oil-based products, environmentally appropriate treatment or final disposal alternatives are adopted.

The active portfolio management process for Exploration and Production (E&P) considers issues related to the decommissioning of assets, which is a legal requirement to be carried out when the production system’s lifecycle ends, or within revitalization projects through the replacement of old systems with new ones, being, therefore, a natural process within the production cycle of the oil and gas industry, which will become increasingly common in Brazil due to the nearing end of the productive life of many offshore production systems.

We seek to convert the decommissioning of our assets into a leverage for sustainability value within our production cycle, aligned with our commitments to the economic development of the country, sustainable innovation, and the improvement of the quality of life for all of society, while respecting human rights and the environment, and contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).