How ‘resource debt’ chips away at miners’ growth and investor trust
Over the past decade, resource misclassification has saddled the mining industry with a costly problem.
Petrobras has agreed to sell diesel with renewable content to Vale, the two Brazilian giants said on Friday, in a deal that might also include the supply of other low-carbon fuels going forward.
The agreement marks a concrete effort by miner Vale to decarbonize its operations, as well as a win for state-run oil firm Petrobras in its efforts to develop a market for the sustainable fuels it produces.
Petrobras and Vale are two of Latin America’s largest companies by market value.
“The partnership with Vale is yet another achievement for Petrobras in its goal of improving its production capacity and logistics structure to supply greener products to the market,” Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard said.
The agreement will initially cover the supply of diesel with renewable content for the mining giant’s trucks and locomotives, and might eventually be expanded to marine fuel with 24% of renewable content and natural gas.
Reuters first reported the agreement earlier on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Petrobras is able to provide marine fuel with up to 24% of renewable content, and diesel with 5%, Chambriard said last week, when she mentioned that a deal with Vale was in the works.
The deal is also a milestone for Vale’s new leadership as the firm, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, tries to improve its relationship with the Brazilian government, which has pressured it to invest more in the country.
Former finance head Gustavo Pimenta took over as chief executive earlier this month, replacing Eduardo Bartolomeo. Analysts have highlighted that improving ties with the government would be a key goal for the new CEO.
“We are very happy to announce this broad partnership with Petrobras, which brings benefits to both companies and creates value for Brazil,” Pimenta said in a statement.
(By Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Marguerita Choy)
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