Brazil’s oil & gas major opens offshore wind tender

Petrobras, a Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company, has issued tenders for geophysical and geotechnical studies to explore the feasibility of an offshore wind pilot project off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

The first tender covers the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of geophysical data in ultra-shallow waters near João da Barra, including electrical tomography as well as bathymetric and topographic surveys up to a depth of 10 meters over an area of 1.5 square kilometers.

The second tender comprises the acquisition of geotechnical data in shallow and ultra-shallow water and beach environments.

Documents for both tenders, closing on June 26, are available via the Petronect procurement platform (IDs 7004452335 and 7004460462).

In 2024, Petrobras signed a Protocol of Intentions with the Rio de Janeiro state government to conduct joint studies to assess the feasibility of developing an offshore wind pilot project.

Last year, a study conducted by DNV for the World Bank Group estimated that Brazil’s technical offshore wind potential exceeds 1,200 GW, comprising 480 GW from fixed-bottom and 748 GW from floating wind technologies.

At the beginning of 2025, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed into law a bill that establishes regulations on allocating and permitting offshore wind development areas.