Carbon Capture, Transport and Geological Storage: Decree No. 13,095/2026 is Published, Regulating These Activities in Brazil
On August 13, 2026, the Federal Government published Decree No. 13,095/2026, regulating articles 26 to 29 of Law No. 14,993/2024 (the “Fuel of the Future Law”) and establishing conditions for carrying out the capture, transport by pipeline and geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Brazilian territory.
In summary, the Decree sets out a non-exhaustive list of technological routes for CO₂ capture and geological storage, covering the activities of (i) Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS); (ii) Bioenergy with Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (BECCUS); (iii) Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS); (iv) Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS); (v) Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS); and (vi) Direct Air Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (DACCUS). Other technological routes that may come to be developed may be established by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
In line with the concept of “GHG removal” set out in Law No. 15,042/2024, which created the Brazilian Emissions Trading System (Sistema Brasileiro de Comércio de Emissões – SBCE), the Decree qualifies the geological storage of CO₂ as a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction or removal activity, and provides that it may be considered under the SBCE, subject to the requirements, conditions and criteria set out in the legislation and regulations applicable to the regulated market. This provision strengthens the argument that the methodologies approved under the SBCE must encompass carbon capture and storage activities for purposes of converting carbon credits into Verified Emission Reduction or Removal Certificates (CRVEs).
In line with the Fuel of the Future Law, carrying out CO₂ capture, transport and storage activities will depend on an authorization from the ANP, which will comprise of (i) research and assessment; and (ii) geological storage operation. The ANP will also be responsible for setting the technical conditions and the procedure for the authorization, regulation, oversight and closure of these activities, and may require guarantees providing financial assurance for all stages, including decommissioning and monitoring. The Decree further provides expressly that the ANP authorization will not exempt the project from environmental licensing.
Another relevant point is infrastructure sharing: the ANP will set out the requirements for business models based on shared infrastructure, observing open access, transparency and non-discrimination, and will define prioritization criteria where more than one party is interested in the same storage block — a sensitive issue for the structuring of multi-user hubs and for the negotiation of transport and storage agreements.
It is also worth noting that, while the Fuel of the Future Law indicated that Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) would not be covered by its provisions, which generated debate at the time of its enactment. The Decree establishes that the geological storage of non-native CO₂ (that is, CO₂ not originating from the reservoir) for EOR purposes will be permitted by the ANP through the approval of development plans, and will be subject to the obligations set out in article 29 of the Law, which addresses the obligations of the geological storage operator. In summary, the practical conclusion remains the same: EOR activities will continue to be addressed in development plans, as was already the case, but with the express application of the geological storage operator’s obligations where CO₂ from an external source is involved.
The Decree establishes that ANP authorization may only be terminated once the stability requirements for the volume of CO₂ stored in the geological reservoir and for the corresponding pressure front have been evidenced, as assessed over the monitoring period, which will initially be 20 years from the end of CO₂ injection. If those requirements are not demonstrated by the end of that period, the ANP will extend the authorization and require a new monitoring plan; alternatively, the period may be shortened upon early demonstration, based on geological modeling covering a minimum horizon of 50 years. Nevertheless, the termination of the authorization will not exclude or limit the liability of the operator, or of its successors on any grounds, “as to the safety of the storage, the remediation of environmental damage and the indemnification of affected third parties.”
The Decree also establishes that the Ministry of Mines and Energy (Ministério de Minas e Energia – MME), with the support of the Energy Research Office (Empresa de Pesquisa Energética – EPE), will be responsible for preparing the Indicative Plan for CO₂ Capture, Transport and Storage Infrastructure, which is to be reviewed every two years. It is worth noting that the EPE recently published an updated report on "Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in Brazil: Contributions to the selection of areas of interest – 2025 Cycle", which can be accessed on the EPE's website.
Finally, projects initiated before the Decree came into force must also comply with its provisions and with the ANP rules. The new framework represents a significant step in the consolidation of the regulatory framework for CCS and CCUS in Brazil. In this context, companies are advised to closely follow the regulations to be issued by the ANP and to assess the effects of the Decree on the structuring of their projects, the applicable guarantee regime, and the strategy for monetizing credits under the SBCE and in the voluntary carbon market.
The Environmental, Climate Change and Sustainability and Global Energy Practices of Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown is available to provide further clarification on this matter.
