Brazil's fuel of the future law is a key driver of Endura's bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project in Brazil.
The project, which Pedroso expects to be launched in 2031, would capture and store 1mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of CO2, focusing on carbon from the ethanol and sugar sector. Pedroso — who also serves as Endura's chief executive — spoke to Argus about the project's future and the overall scenario for carbon capture projects in Brazil. Edited highlights follow.
What is the timeline to launch Endura?
We expect to send a formal request [to hydrocarbons regulator ANP] in the second quarter of 2026. We see the beginning of operations in the early 2030s. And we expect to scale the project tenfold in a decade.
How will regulations affect the project's timeline?
Regulation will be critical. The fuel of the future law gave the groundwork for the regulation, putting [hydrocarbons regulator] ANP in charge of authorizations for carbon projects.
ANP has already indicated the ways that companies can request authorization [for projects] while it issues more detailed regulation at the end of this year or early next year.
Now, we will finish this first phase of studies, which is the screening of possible sites [for CO2 storage], and then enter the second stage next year, by requesting authorization from ANP. This request is essential because it defines an area where we will put a seismic work program and a test well.
Are there any sites in Brazil that you are looking at, specifically, for the project?
We are looking first at the southern Parana basin, which extends through southern Parana, southeastern Sao Paulo and central-western Mato Grosso do Sul states.
Of course, we're looking for sites that are closer to the main emitters, which are the main [sugarcane] mills. But also, we cannot force nature to be right underneath the mill we choose.
We will have some sites, where we will take CO2 produced from 4-6 mills.
How much investment will the project require?
I am not at liberty to disclose that as of now, but I can say they are similar to those in exploration and production of oil and gas.
What are some of the regulatory advances that you think are still missing for Brazil's Beccs market?
It is already extremely positive that we have the fuel of the future law and a strong regulatory agency. That is a competitive advantage for Brazil.
But there are still some sensitive points regarding the upcoming regulation, such as how, from the perspective of future management of these reservoirs, the mechanisms for accountability regarding monitoring and management will work.
There will come a time, say 20-30 years from now, when injection into a given reservoir will end and monitoring will begin. And there's always the need to demonstrate that the CO2 is still stable.
In an oil field, there are already established criteria for abandonment, well capping and closure of activities. As for carbon, we need to ensure that it will remain in the reservoir forever, basically.
The regulation needs to establish what these future mechanisms are, so that it is already included in each project and for how long.
These criteria are essential for projects today to have a forecast of the necessary mechanism and for greater investment safety.
But ANP has already appointed a department for that. So the regulation just needs to be improved. It's a matter of adapting it for carbon capture.
What will be ANP's main challenge to complete that process?
The regulator will need the financial resources and it has recently faced challenges in that sense. ANP needs to expand, not shrink.
What sort of infrastructure will be needed for the Endura project?
The regions we looked at have no existing pipelines for carbon. That will indeed be a challenge, both in the economical and licensing sense.
Our project considers CO2 liquefaction on site. We will then move the CO2 by trucks which will be powered by vehicular natural gas or biomethane. We see that as the most adequate, flexible and economical logistical option.
We can add pipelines from some mills that are closer to the storage sites, but that would be an exception.
By Lucas Parolin