BP Eyes Nine Biomethane Projects in Brazil
BP is evaluating at least nine potential biomethane projects in Brazil, according to company president Andres Guevara de la Vega, speaking at a British Chamber of Commerce event in Rio de Janeiro.
The projects would likely source feedstock from BP’s existing ethanol operations, although details on capacity, location, and timelines have not yet been disclosed. Biofuels are a central pillar of BP’s Brazil strategy, alongside offshore pre-salt oil assets.
BP strengthened its bioenergy footprint in 2024 after taking full ownership of Bunge, creating BP Bioenergy, which operates 11 plants and is now the country’s second-largest ethanol producer behind Raízen (a Shell-Cosan joint venture).
The company is already advancing its first biomethane project in Goiás state, designed for 70,000 m³/d capacity using sugarcane bagasse. Beyond biomethane, BP is considering sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, building on its co-processing experience and exploring alcohol-to-jet technologies. SAF is seen as particularly promising in Brazil given BP’s role as a leading jet fuel distributor across more than 40 airports.
While sugarcane remains BP’s primary resource, the company is also evaluating corn ethanol. De la Vega highlighted “interesting synergies” between sugarcane and corn, noting Brazil’s rapid corn ethanol growth, which reached 7.55bn liters in 2024 — around 20% of national ethanol output, according to the government’s energy research agency EPE.
