Petrobras under Lula boosts investment in the environment – 02/07/2023 – Market

In yet another shift in relation to previous administrations, the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, announced this Tuesday (7th), “the largest public selection of socio-environmental projects” in the company’s history.

The company has reserved BRL 432 million for around 50 projects that will be chosen via public selection. “It represents ten times more than what we invested in our 2021 announcement”, said Prates, in a video distributed by the company.

The company’s social investment strategy had been altered by the then first president of Petrobras in the Jair Bolsonaro government, Roberto Castello Branco, who focused the area’s budget on projects related to basic education and even reviewed cultural sponsorships.

The theme remains among the priorities of the program, which now also focuses on human rights and innovation. In the area of ​​education, projects supported by the Federal Sports Incentive Law will be evaluated, informed the state-owned company.

Differences in relation to Bolsonarist administrations also appear in the discourse on the role of Petrobras.

While Castello Branco defended that the company’s return to society took place through the payment of taxes and dividends, Prates says he wants to “increase the positive impact and make a difference in the lives of more people, in the daily lives of communities and in the conservation of the environment “.

“Petrobras is committed to transforming its results into return for society”, he said, in the statement about the public call. “We believe that the company’s growth must go hand in hand with the development of communities and conservation of the environment.”

The call will be made in two stages: in the first, the company will analyze projects in the North, Northeast, Midwest and South regions, with the expectation of contracting more than 20 projects with a three-year period.

The public notice has a much higher value than those launched by the state-owned company in the Bolsonaro government: in 2022, the company contracted BRL 12 million in three projects; in 2021, there were R$ 41 million in 23 projects.

Before Bolsonaro, the numbers were higher: R$180 million and 68 projects in 2018; and R$160 million and 57 projects in 2014. In amounts corrected for inflation from the end of each year, today would be R$229 million and R$257 million, respectively.

“We want to approve transformative projects, create lasting partnerships and encourage innovative ideas”, said Prates, in the video. “Together we can generate new opportunities and generate a positive impact for society.”

The differences in proposals for the state-owned company between the PT and Bolsonarist governments were already announced during the campaign, when Lula’s candidacy preached the return to sectors abandoned by the company, such as petrochemicals, fertilizers and renewable energies.

In a video released shortly after his inauguration, Prates reinforced this difference. “We want a Petrobras that is proud of being big and of boosting all the regions and businesses where it operates”, he said, in opposition to Castello Branco, who defended that “the important thing is to be strong and not to be giant”.