Channels, Fall 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 3 • Number 1 Page 97 Seeing Green through the Eyes of National Oil Companies: A Comparison of Gazprom’s and Petrobras’ Environmental Sustainability Jesse Thompson History and Government Introduction aving lived in various regions of Brazil I have been able to observe their various attitudes towards energy consumption. When traveling down the Amazon River in Brazil by boat in the early 2000s, I remember watching small floating “gas stations” pass by on the riverside lined with soda bottles or small canisters filled with oil. Wooden canoes with outboard motors would be parked all around the floating station and the locals would be engaged in transactions for the fuel. A few years later as I traversed the larger cities of Brasilia and Natal I noticed the uniqueness of the Petrobras gas stations lining the corners of various street corners. Not only would they be staffed by attendants, but one could ask for either flex fuel or gasoline. Furthermore, certain cars around the cities would be marked with the words “Flex Fuel.” Curious, I inquired about the differences between the two. I was told Flex Fuel refers to ethanol, a biofuel from the sugar cane plantations across Brazil. Petrobras became associated as a large proponent for environmentally friendly fuel and technology development in my mind. Later on, I would see large green billboards and posters advertising their success and initiatives in improving the Brazilian environment. Looking back now, it is an interesting comparison of how energy consumption and concern for the environment varies by region in Brazil. Certainly the economic success of the region played a large role in the available fuel options, yet also over time Petrobras has rebranded itself as an environmentally green oil and energy producer (Gabrielli, 2009). Energy can be harnessed from various forms. Michael McElroy (2010), Professor of Environmental Science at Harvard University, broadly defines energy (of a system) as “the capacity of the system to do work” (p. 78). There are various forms of energy: coal, oil, natural gas, biomass and energy from water and wind. Coal played a dominant role in the industrial revolution originating in England and the rest of Europe. However, more recently coal combustion largely occurs in China, which in 2005 accounted for 44.8% of total world production. Global coal production within the former USSR has decreased since 1973, whereas in Latin America it has gradually increased. McElroy (2010) highlights oil as “the single most essential ingredient of modern industrial society” (p. 123). In 2005, Russia was the second highest world producer of oil at 9.5 million barrels per day, and Brazil was the H