By Abbas Nazil
Brazil is moving rapidly toward deploying South America’s first large-scale carbon dioxide injection by mid-2026 following major regulatory and investment advances confirmed after COP30.
The milestone positions the country at a critical turning point where law, regulation, and operational readiness are converging to enable commercial carbon capture and storage deployment.
Momentum increased during COP30 when Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy opened a public consultation on a draft decree governing carbon capture, transport, storage, and CO₂ use.
The consultation advances Brazil’s 2024 carbon capture and storage law from policy intent toward an enforceable framework capable of authorising and supervising projects.
Officials confirmed that the consultation window remains open until December 16, creating a narrow but decisive period for shaping South America’s first comprehensive CCS regulatory regime.
The regulatory progress has already triggered tangible investment responses from major energy companies operating in Brazil.
TotalEnergies has advanced an offshore CCS programme valued at more than 155 million dollars, reflecting confidence grounded in its operational experience with CO₂ injection projects in the North Sea.
Petrobras has also demonstrated commitment through its 2026 to 2030 business plan, allocating around 14 percent of its 6.4 billion dollar decarbonisation portfolio to CCS and related low-carbon activities.
Central to the regulatory process is a CCS Technical Executive Subcommittee established in July 2025 to design Brazil’s operational framework for carbon capture and geological storage.
The subcommittee includes government agencies, Petrobras, TotalEnergies, FS Energia, Innovation Norway, and the Society for Low Carbon Technologies, ensuring technical depth and institutional coordination.
FS Energia is currently advancing Brazil’s first CCS project under provisional authorisation, with plans to begin permanent CO₂ injection without enhanced oil recovery by mid-2026.
The project, initiated in 2021, is expected to become the first real-world test of Brazil’s CCS regulatory system transitioning from pilot status to full implementation.
Under the draft decree, regulatory oversight for CCS activities is assigned to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels as the single statutory authority.
The framework introduces a two-phase approval process covering site evaluation and operational deployment, alongside mandatory monitoring requirements.
Operators will be required to conduct post-closure monitoring for a minimum of 20 years unless they can demonstrate earlier long-term plume stability and pressure containment.
The decree also clearly separates permanent geological storage from CO₂ used in enhanced oil recovery, aligning Brazil’s framework with international regulatory best practice.
Although financial incentives comparable to those in the United States have not yet been defined, the regulatory architecture enables future monetisation mechanisms to be introduced.
Taken together, the decree signals Brazil’s readiness to compete for global low-carbon investment while safeguarding environmental integrity.
If ratified, the framework is expected to accelerate CCS deployment across Brazil and provide a replicable model for other South American nations.
