Vast and Petrobras: new agreement

One clause says a lot about where Brazil’s offshore logistics are heading.

This week, Vast Infraestrutura and Petrobras announced a new long-term agreement for crude oil transshipment operations at the T-Oil terminal, located at the Port of Açu. The contract includes a take-or-pay clause, marking the first agreement of this type between the two companies. Although financial terms were not disclosed, the companies have maintained a commercial relationship for transshipment services since 2019.

Under this model, Petrobras commits to pay for a minimum contracted capacity regardless of actual throughput. In return, it secures long-term access to terminal capacity and greater operational predictability, while Vast benefits from more stable revenues and increased confidence to support future investments.

The significance of this agreement goes beyond the contractual structure itself. It reflects a broader trend in Brazil’s offshore sector, where export infrastructure is increasingly being treated as a strategic asset alongside production capacity. As offshore output continues to grow, long-term logistics planning becomes just as important as developing new fields.

For terminal operators, take-or-pay agreements reduce commercial risk, improve cash flow visibility and strengthen the financial foundations for future expansion. For producers, they provide greater certainty over export logistics, even though minimum payment obligations remain in place during periods of lower utilization.

The agreement also reinforces the strategic importance of T-Oil. In 2025, the terminal carried out 229 crude oil transshipment operations and handled more than 48% of Brazil’s crude oil exports through terminals. Located close to the country’s main producing basins, T-Oil is licensed to handle up to 1.8 million barrels of oil per day and currently serves 11 major operators active in Brazil.

As Brazil expands offshore production over the coming years, agreements that combine operational certainty with long-term infrastructure planning are likely to become increasingly common across the industry.