Mr. Jean Paul Terra Prates took office in both positions on this date.
Jean Paul Terra Prates is 54 years old, he is a lawyer, graduated from the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), with a Master’s in Economics and Management of Oil, Gas and Engines from the French Petroleum Institute (IFP School) and a Master’s in Energy Policy and Environmental Management from the University of Pennsylvania.
He was a member of the legal counsel of Petrobras International S.A. – Braspetro, editor of the Oil & Gas Journal Latinoamericana and Executive Director of Expetro Consultoria em Recursos Naturais Ltda., the largest national oil consultancy during the 1990s and 2000s, when he coordinated projects for several public and private companies, national and international, union and sector entities, and advised governments, regulatory agencies, and parliamentarians in all areas of the energy sector.
As Energy Secretary of the Rio Grande do Norte State Government, he led the state to energy self-sufficiency and national leadership in wind power generation, besides having consolidated a refinery and gas and biomass thermoelectric plants in the state and built bases for solar and offshore wind power projects.
As Senator of the Republic for Rio Grande do Norte between 2019 and 2023, among other relevant positions, he was a member of the college of leaders, and Leader in the Senate and in the National Congress. He was President of the Parliamentary Front for Natural Resources and Energy and of the Brazil-Arab Countries Parliamentary Group. He was a member of several Senate committees, such as the Committee of Economic Affairs, the Committee of Services and Infrastructure and the Committee of Science and Technology. Jean Paul Prates was also the author of important legal frameworks involving energy transition and sustainable practices, such as the law regulating carbon capture and storage activities and the offshore energy law. In addition, he served as rapporteur of the Legal Framework for Railroads, the new laws on the production of biogas in landfills, and the new law on sustainable urban mobility.
He was recently recognized as one of the three most influential people in the renewable energy sector in Brazil, and one of the 50 most important personalities in the world energy sector, by the two main international energy magazines – Recharge (European) and WindPower (American). He was also elected one of the 25 most influential in the world wind industry by Windpower magazine.
