CCUS

CCUS stands for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage. It is a set of technologies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions into the atmosphere. These technologies work in four main steps:

- Capture: CO₂ is captured from industrial sources or directly from the atmosphere.
- Transportation: The captured CO₂ is compressed and transported through pipelines or ships.
- Storage: CO₂ is safely stored in underground geological formations.
- Use: CO₂ can be reused in industrial processes, such as advanced oil recovery.

CCUS is considered strategic in the transition to a low-carbon economy, as it can be applied in various sectors, contributing significantly to the reduction of global emissions.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the activity involves:

- the capture of CO₂, usually from sources with intensive carbon dioxide emissions, such as thermoelectric plants, hard-to-abate industries (those in which it is more difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions), fuel and biofuel production processes, cement industry or food industry, for example;

- the use of CO₂ captured in these sources;

- compression and transport of captured CO₂ (when not used on site), through a pipeline, ship, truck or train, to be injected and stored in deep geological formations, such as depleted oil or gas reservoirs or in saline reservoirs (International Energy Agency - IEA, 2021).

CCUS has been considered an essential complementary technology to achieve net zero emissions targets by 2050, helping to meet the challenge of changing the energy matrix. It can be used to offset unavoidable emissions from the development of economic activity, in addition to energy efficiency and emissions mitigation efforts.

This technology is especially relevant in industries where emission mitigation is more difficult (hard-to-abate industries), because they require fossil fuels in their process or do not admit solutions such as electrification.

Law No. 14,993/2024 (Fuel of the Future Act), published on October 8, 2024, provides for the capture, transport, and geological storage of CO₂ (CCUS), with ANP as the authority responsible for regulating the activity of geological capture and storage of CO₂ (CCS). The Fuel of the Future Act establishes that ANP will regulate and authorize the activities of the CCS industry (art. 26) and will issue rules on the qualification of interested parties, conditions for authorization and transfer of ownership (art. 26, §3). It also provides that the Agency must consult holders of exploration rights before authorizing CCS activities in areas under contract (art. 28, §1), in addition to providing access to public technical data of the sedimentary basins for analysis and identification of areas with potential for CO₂ storage (art. 28, §3).

The ANP Board of Directors has approved the use of experimental regulation through pilot projects to receive authorization requests related to carbon capture for geological storage purposes. And it also defined the Superintendency of Technology and Environment (STM) as the gateway for economic agents to submit their requests.

Main points outlined in the provisions of the Fuel of the Future Act concerning CCS activities:

- Brazilian companies or consortia may apply for authorization for CCS activities, which will last for 30 years, extendable for another 30 years (art. 26, §1 and §3);

- The Executive Branch may change the term of the grant for relevant public interest (art. 26, §3);

- Injection and storage of CO₂ for advanced recovery of hydrocarbons is not to be confused with CCS activities provided for in Bill No. 528 (art. 26, §4);

-The holder of the authorization for CCS activities (storage operator) has the following obligations: ensure safe and effective storage of CO₂ according to monitoring and contingency plans; identify and act in case of undesirable events; keep tools calibrated and operational; record and validate storage data; carry out storage and leakage inventories; monitor activities in compliance with regulations; and allow audits and inspections of facilities and related activities (art. 29).

- Click here to access the report on the implementation of the CCUS regulatory framework in Brazil (in Portuguese).

With the publication of Law No. 14,993/2024, ANP advanced in the negotiations for the regulation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) activities in Brazil. On December 19, 2024, the ANP Board of Directors deliberated on the subject, and approved Resolution No. 859/2024, establishing guidelines to enable CCS projects while the specific regulatory framework is under development. Among the main determinations, the following stand out:
- Authorization for CCS pilot projects: ANP will allow the analysis and implementation of carbon capture and storage projects through experimental regulation, ensuring legal certainty for entrepreneurs while the definitive rules are prepared.

- Adoption of an Internal Standard on CCS: creation of an internal standard to guide the administrative processes related to CCS activity was approved, ensuring regulatory coherence and institutional clarity. Click here to view it (portuguese).

- Transparency and social participation plan: ANP will develop a communication plan to expand civil society's access to information on CCS, promoting greater engagement and social acceptance for the activity in Brazil.

With these measures, ANP reinforces its commitment to enabling technological solutions for the decarbonization of the Brazilian energy matrix, ensuring a regulatory environment that is safe, transparent, and aligned with the best international practices.

Accelerated efforts to combat climate change will require a set of public and private actions and depend on the advancement of various technologies, many of which are still under development or seeking scalability and cost-effectiveness.

CCUS can play an important role in balancing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to the sustainability of the energy sector and achieving the goals set in international agreements.

International experience has shown that CCUS projects depend on incentives and public policies to move forward. Brazil has been building the necessary instruments to stimulate this activity, in line with the energy transition agenda.

In this scenario, there are expectations of an increase in the demand for mitigation of environmental impacts arising from oil and gas exploration and production activities. Companies seek to diversify their business plans and develop projects that are more aligned with the new context.

The Petroleum Act (Law No. 9,487/1997) assigned to ANP the responsibility of stimulating research and the adoption of new technologies in exploration, production, transportation, refining and processing. Thus, the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) contracts, signed between the Agency and the oil companies include a clause that stipulates a percentage of the gross revenue from fields with a large oil or natural gas production to research, development and innovation (RD&I) projects: 1% of the gross revenue for fields under the concession regime that are under the obligation to pay Special Participation; 1% for fields under the production sharing regime; and 0.5% for fields under the onerous assignment regime.

In compliance with CNPE(National Energy Policy Council) Resolution No. 2/2021, ANP has made it clear that these resources can be invested in projects aimed at alternative energy sources to fossil fuels and the reduction of  greenhouse gas emissions. This resolution was amended by CNPE Resolution No. 07/2025, expressly inserting CCS in the list of RD&I project themes that should be prioritized.

Thus, ANP's RD&I clause works as a relevant innovation booster in the Brazilian economy, since investment obligations under these criteria have been growing in recent years. About 8% of the total resources invested resulting from the RD&I clause is related to CCUS, considering the period from the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2023. This data can be viewed on the Dynamic Investment Bond Dashboard.