We have an investment ticket for Mubadala Capital’s biofuels project in Brazil: Mubadala Capital — sovereign wealth fund Mubadala’s asset management arm — is looking to inject USD 13.5 bn into its biofuels project in Brazil over the next 10 years to produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, Mubadala Capital’s head of Brazil, Oscar Fahlgren told The Financial Times on Sunday. Mubadala Capital will fund the investment through a mix of equity and debt over a period of five to 10 years, according to Fahlgren.

That’s not all that was revealed: The biofuels plant — to be developed by Mubadala Capital’s energy subsidiary Acelen — will comprise five USD 2.7 bn modules, each including a biorefinery with the capacity to process 20k fuel barrels per day. The first module is set to commence production by the end of 2026. Additionally, Mubadala Capital plans to convert an existing oil refinery, acquired from Brazil’s state-owned energy firm Petrobras in 2021, in the northeast region of Brazil.

This isn’t the first time we hear about these projects: Mubadala Capital signed an MoU with Petrobras in 2023 to partner on the refinery project, which Petrobras is looking to repurchase from Mubadala. Acelen revealed the estimated cost for the biofuels project’s first module in April 2023, saying it plans to invest USD 2.4 bn to produce 1 bn liters per year of hydrotreated vegetable oil.

Why Brazil? “It’s all about feedstock [which] in reality is agriculture. And Brazil is probably the best-placed country on the planet when it comes to agricultural proficiency because of the climate and the fertile soil. Brazil is to agriculture what Abu Dhabi is to oil,” Fahlgren told the salmon-colored paper.

Mubadala wants to expand its foothold in Brazil even further: “We’re very bullish on the investment climate in Brazil right now and the opportunities we see. We do have a number of assets that are relatively mature today, and could be potential exit candidates in the not too distant future,” Fahlgren said.

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