Petrobras to supply bio bunker fuel to Vale for trial on iron ore transport ship

Vale on Thursday (24 October) said it has signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement which includes Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras selling a very low-sulphur bunker blend with 24% biodiesel for testing on an iron ore transport vessel working for Vale.

The mining firm said the agreement between the two parties, which reflects the natural evolution of the protocol of intentions signed by the companies in September 2023, establishes conditions for testing and potentially marketing three strategic products: co-processed diesel with renewable content, natural gas and bunker fuel with 24% renewable content. 

The products included in the agreement were defined on the basis of joint studies between the companies.

“We are very happy to announce this broad partnership with Petrobras, which brings benefits to both companies and creates value for Brazil,” said Vale’s CEO, Gustavo Pimenta. 

“The agreement reinforces Vale’s commitment to promoting the decarbonisation of its operations and offering solutions to reduce its customers’ emissions, thus leveraging Brazil’s competitive edge in renewable fuels.”

“We are developing ever greener fuels and honouring our commitment to decarbonise our activities. The partnership with Vale is yet another realisation of Petrobras’ goal of improving production capacity and the company’s logistics structure to deliver to the market greener products such as Diesel R and reinforce our decarbonisation strategy,” said Petrobras president Magda Chambriard.

Diesel R5 is an S10 diesel with 5% HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) in its composition. It is produced by co-processing oil derivatives with raw materials of plant origin, resulting in a product with identical technical specifications to mineral diesel and 60% less carbon intensity in the renewable portion.

Photo credit: Vale
Published: 25 October 2024