Petrobras has awarded a contract to Fugro for a geotechnical site investigation for the Brazilian oil major’s first offshore wind project, a pilot proposed to be built off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
According to Fugro, the 18 MW Rio de Janeiro offshore wind pilot project is the first offshore wind development in South America to advance under a formal environmental licensing process.
Under the contract, the company will work within a nearshore study area off São João da Barra to acquire the data needed to inform the project’s design. The scope covers soil sampling, in situ testing, and laboratory analysis at four coastal and shallow-water locations, as well as onshore investigations to support cable landfall and routing.
Fugro will begin operations and analysis in April and continue through the third quarter of 2026, with final reporting scheduled for 2027. The delivery of the geotechnical survey project will be led by Fugro’s Brazil‑based teams, pairing nearshore operations from the Rio das Ostras hub with laboratory analysis at the Pinhais facility.
“As South America moves forward with its offshore wind ambitions, early Geo ‑data is one of the most important tools for reducing uncertainty and setting projects up for long-term success ”, said C éline Gerson , President and Group Director for Fugro in the Americas. “By partnering with Petrobras at this early stage, we’re helping establish the technical foundation needed to progress offshore wind responsibly and expand future energy options in Brazil and across the wider region.”
Petrobras’ Rio de Janeiro offshore wind pilot is part of the company’s broader push into offshore renewables and is planned as a testbed for technologies and project development approaches ahead of potential commercial-scale projects.
The 18 MW project, located offshore São João da Barra, entered the environmental licensing process with the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) at the beginning of 2024. According to the project documents available on IBAMA’s website, Petrobras’s pilot will comprise only one wind turbine with a generation capacity of 18 MW.
Later in 2024, Petrobras signed a Protocol of Intentions with the Rio de Janeiro state government to conduct joint studies to assess the feasibility of implementing the offshore wind pilot project.
In June 2025, the company opened tenders for geophysical and geotechnical studies to assess the feasibility of the Rio de Janeiro offshore wind pilot project.
In 2023, Petrobras unveiled plans to develop wind farms offshore Brazil with a potential capacity of up to 23 GW, including a floating wind project in Rio de Janeiro, after submitting a request to IBAMA to start the environmental licensing process for ten areas off the Brazilian coast.
In April 2024, the company deployed a floating LiDAR buoy for offshore wind measurement in the Areia Branca sea, off the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. In October that year, Petrobras announced it would deploy five new units of a Brazil-made floating LiDAR for wind measurements off the country’s coasts.