The region has the capacity to produce around 186 billion liters of palm oil per year, equivalent to a green pre-salt layer

São Paulo, February 28, 2024 - The Brazilian Amazon holds the energy of the future. For Grupo BBF, a palm oil producer in Latin America, oil palm, also known as dendê, has the potential to make Brazil a leader in the production of advanced fuels, as well as decarbonizing the Legal Amazon.

Brazil has the potential to grow oil palm in a totally sustainable way on around 31 million hectares of degraded areas in the Amazon region, according to extensive work carried out by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). Brazilian legislation for palm cultivation is based on Decree 7.172, established in 2010 by the Federal Government, and is considered to be the strictest in the world in this sector, as it only allows palm to be cultivated in areas that were deforested in the Amazon region until December 2007.

According to the CEO of Grupo BBF, palm is an example of a crop that combines the recovery of the biome, the replacement of fossil raw materials with renewable ones, as well as generating jobs and income for the local population. "From palm oil, it's possible to talk about the bioeconomy within the electricity, chemical and biofuel sectors, as well as agribusiness. The region has a real green pre-salt," he says.

"Despite the fact that its cultivation is allowed throughout this area, without cutting down a single tree in the forest, today palm is planted on just 300,000 hectares in Brazil, 75,000 hectares of which are in Grupo BBF. "The bill for this sustainable 'green pre-salt' also includes huge figures for the Brazilian economy: each hectare is capable of generating up to 6,000 liters of palm oil. 6,000 liters times 31 million hectares gives Brazil the opportunity to produce 186 billion liters of palm oil a year. This figure is higher than the volume of oil extracted by Petrobras in 2022 - which was around 175 billion liters," says the executive.

Currently, Brazil's palm oil production is still timid, placing the country in tenth place in the ranking of the largest producers, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The production of this oil, which is the most consumed in the world, is concentrated in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, countries that hold 87% of world production, estimated at around 80 million tons per year.

From 2026, Grupo BBF will start supplying SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) and Green Diesel (RD). The raw material for the advanced biofuels will be palm oil grown by Grupo BBF in the Amazon region. Refining will be carried out at the country's first biorefinery to produce the unprecedented biofuels on an industrial scale, which will have the capacity to produce around 500 million liters of SAF and Green Diesel annually.

In addition, Grupo BBF generates clean, renewable electricity for more than 140,000 residents of isolated locations in the Amazon, served by Isolated Systems, with 25 thermoelectric plants in operation, powered by biofuels produced from palm oil. The company has developed a vertically integrated business model, generating around 6,000 direct jobs and 18,000 indirect jobs, making a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the northern region, keeping the forest standing and generating income and opportunities for thousands of Amazonians in the five states where it operates.

About Grupo BBF

Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), a Brazilian company founded in 2008, is the largest palm oil producer in Latin America, with a cultivated area of over 75,000 hectares and a production capacity of 200,000 tons of oil per year. The company is a pioneer in creating sustainable solutions for generating renewable energy in isolated systems, with thermoelectric plants powered by biofuels produced in the region. Its agricultural activity recovers areas that were degraded until 2007 in the Amazon, following the Oil Palm Agroecological Zoning (ZAE), approved by Decree 7.172 of the Federal Government, of May 7, 2010.

Grupo BBF has created an integrated business model in which it operates from the beginning to the end of the value chain - from sustainable oil palm cultivation, crude oil extraction, biofuel production, biotechnology and renewable energy generation - with assets totaling around R$2.2 billion and activities generating around 6,000 direct jobs in the northern region of Brazil. Grupo BBF 's operations are located in the states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima and Pará, comprising 38 thermoelectric plants (25 in operation and 13 under implementation), 3 palm oil crushing units, a soybean extruder and a biodiesel industry.

The company is expanding its supply of biofuels and has signed partnerships to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Green Diesel (RD). The new sustainable fuels will be produced from 2026 at the country's first Biorefinery, which is currently under construction in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (AM).

BBF press office
imprensa@grupobbf.com.br
GBR Comunicação
Fernanda Domiciano / Vagner Magalhães