The state of Sergipe gained a new position in the oil and gas exploration and production scenario in Brazil with the declaration of commerciality of no less than seven fields in four offshore blocks made by Petrobras at the turn of 2021. The Sergipe basin was identified as the the newest frontier of oil and gas production development by the oil company, which recorded a national record of water depth in the drilling of a well, reaching 2,990m (equivalent to the height of Pico da Neblina).

The opportunities and challenges generated by the enormous potential of this basin, in which reservoirs with excellent quality oil were found, will be the subject of debates on June 15th and 16th, at the first Sergipe Oil & Gas, to be held in Aracaju. Organized by the consulting firms BrainMarket and Eolus, with a strong presence in the energy sector, the event's proposal is to “induce an articulation in the O&G production chain in the State, aiming to highlight the opportunities to meet their demands, as well as a strategic positioning for the entire Northeast. (https://sergipeoilgas.com.br/)

The event aims to attract new investments, promote the improvement of the regional production chain, encourage technological partnerships and generate opportunities for advances in infrastructure to meet the demand of the Oil & Gas segment in the state of Sergipe. The goal is to promote a new cycle of development in the segment, stimulating the formation of new regional markets in the value chain, seeking to evaluate the strategies established, verify the results and propose, in a planned way, the necessary infrastructure to attract new actors in the State. .

With this bold proposal, the event will bring together representatives of the direct and indirect administration (from different governmental spheres), agents of the energy sector, companies in the industrial chain and suppliers of O&G goods and services, sectorial, research and commercial promotion entities, investment funds and startups.

Among the confirmed speakers are representatives of state and federal public agencies, such as the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), Energy Research Company (EPE); from operators such as Petrobras, ExxonMobil, EnP Energy; from the production chain, such as Aker, Halliburton, Technip, Granihc, Estrutural, Ocyan; from the gas market, such as TAG – Transportadora Associada de Gás, and from sectoral entities, such as the Brazilian Association of Independent Oil Producers (Abpip), the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association (ABIQUIM), the Association of Large Industrial Energy Consumers and Free Consumers ( HUG), among others.

To learn more about the event, schedule and registration, visit the Sergipe Oil e Gas - Home website (https://sergipeoilgas.com.br/)

Special interview 

SERGIPE IS DOING THE HOMEWORK

The statement is from the executive superintendent of the Sergipe State Secretariat for Economic Development and Science and Technology (Sedetec), Marcelo dos Santos Menezes, who talks about the initiatives implemented to position the state as an important player in the oil & gas and energy industry.  

What is the relevance of this event for the State of Sergipe? 

Marcelo Menezes – In recent years, thanks to Petrobras discoveries in the so-called Sergipe Águas Profundas Project, the state has presented itself as a new frontier for oil and natural gas, having been named the New Star of Brazil's Gas. In addition, Sergipe has CELSE's first private Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, to serve the UTE Porto de Sergipe I, with the capacity to supply gas to serve the entire Northeast region.

How has Sedetec been acting to support the development of the sector? 

Marcelo Menezes – Sedetec, under the guidance of Governor Belivaldo Chagas, has sought to develop actions to give visibility to the countless opportunities that emerge in this new scenario and, thereby, consolidate the State as a pole of investment attraction. For this reason, we have held and supported events that deal with the subject of oil and gas, as we believe it is necessary to promote constant debate on the subject and increasingly show Sergipe as a protagonist in the subject. We cannot fail to emphasize the effort being made together with SEBRAE to create the conditions for the participation of small and medium-sized local companies in this new phase of the State's development.

How is the State preparing the necessary infrastructure to change its role in the country's oil & gas sector? 

Marcelo Menezes – Perhaps the most outstanding work developed over these years is the modernization of state regulation that involves the oil and gas chain. The Regulations for Local Piped Gas Services in Sergipe have been updated in order to be at the forefront in the country, worth mentioning for being aligned with the guidelines of the New Market for Natural Gas and seeking to create conditions for the development of a more open and competitive market. . It is worth noting here that Sergipe had the first free consumer in Brazil, UNIGEL AGRO Sergipe. In the coming days, AGRESE will present new modernizations in the regulatory sector regarding the conditions of migration of captive consumers to the free market, separation of commercialization activities from distribution and advances in the issue of good regulatory practices, seeking to give greater transparency to its actions and ensure equal treatment between agents.

What other actions were taken, in addition to regulatory initiatives? 

Marcelo Menezes – We also developed, in partnership with the private sector and the Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism of the State of Sergipe (Fecomercio), a diagnosis of tax bottlenecks, through the Tax Plan for the Oil and Natural Gas sector, in order to present suggestions for the modernization of our tax legislation, thus seeking to provide legal certainty for investors. And we created the Port Industrial Complex, with the objective of encouraging the economic development of the member municipalities and region. Maruim, Laranjeiras, Santo Amaro and Barra dos Coqueiros are part of this complex. Finally, we have sought to create the conditions in the state to attract large gas consuming companies and, among them, a special emphasis on the fertilizer sector, capable of promoting multiplier effects, due to the various activities that are involved in this important economic chain in Sergipe.

How does the State intend to develop the Oil & Gas chain in order to favor small and medium-sized local companies? 

Marcelo Menezes – We have the great challenge of promoting the insertion of small and medium-sized companies in Sergipe in the activities of supplying goods and services for the oil and gas sector. The State signed an agreement with SEBRAE for the development of this important work. We need to understand the needs of the sector and seek to promote the training of manpower and the qualification and certification of companies, in order to be able to meet the needs of contractors.

What will it take to improve the skills of the local workforce? 

Marcelo Menezes – We are trying to understand the needs of the contracting companies so that we have references for the development of this work. We have been looking for information from experiences in other places where there was a movement similar to the one that the state of Sergipe will soon experience. The Sergipe Oil&Gas event is part of this context, when we will have the participation of future contractors and service providers to seek to promote this approximation. In addition to Petrobras, which already has announced plans and is expected to participate in the event, we also hope that Carmo Energy, the future operator of the Carmópolis Complex, will also be able to provide information about its plans and future needs. ExxonMobil was also invited to participate in the event in order to address the studies for the development of the exploratory campaign in the 9 concession blocks it holds. 

How has the State of Sergipe been acting in attracting investments from the petrochemical chains, fertilizers and other NG consumers for the development of the consumer market in order to create demand for the volume of gas to be produced in Sergipe? 

Marcelo Menezes – As mentioned before, the State has sought to do its homework, creating the regulatory and tax conditions that allow investors to see Sergipe as a safe and attractive place for their investments. The fact that we have the huge gas supply of the SEAP project of 18 million m³/day, onshore production and an LNG terminal is also an important differential due to the access to various sources of supply. All of this will contribute to creating competitive conditions for Sergipe in attracting enterprises that are intensive consumers of natural gas, such as the ceramics, glass, petrochemical and fertilizer sectors.

From the event's own program, we saw that fertilizers are an important agenda...

Marcelo Menezes – The fertilizer sector is one of the priority chains for the State Government, in the area of natural gas. The Government has spared no efforts to resume FAFEN in Laranjeiras, through the UNIGEL Group, and is currently engaged in planning, in partnership with the private initiative and Fecomercio, of the Sergipe Fertilizer Pole.

This strategy, which was already underway, proved to be absolutely correct, due to the soaring international prices of fertilizers caused by the shortage of natural gas in the post-pandemic recovery of the economy, and it worsened too much with the economic sanctions imposed on Belarus and Russia, insofar as that Brazil is dependent on imports of 85% of the fertilizers it consumes, being the largest importer in the world.

We developed important works in partnership with Deputy Laércio de Oliveira with the Federal Government in order to alert to this situation that brought enormous risks to food security and to national security itself, by leaving the national agribusiness exposed to risks arising from geopolitical and logistical issues. . We also had an active participation, together with the Interministerial Technical Group in charge of preparing the National Fertilizer Plan, both in the diagnosis phase and with the presentation of a study on tax relief for the national industry. This work served as a reference for the Bill 3507/21 authored by Deputy Laércio Oliveira, which institutes PROFERT – Program for the Development of the Fertilizer Industry.

In this context, Sergipe also played a decisive role, through SEFAZ, together with CONFAZ, for the revision of the ICMS 100/97 agreement that subsidized the imported product, to the detriment of the national one. We believe that the creation of competitive conditions for the national fertilizer industry, Sergipe will be able to receive new ventures such as the implementation of a new nitrogen fertilizer unit and the resumption of the Carnalita Project, through MOSAIC, holder of exploration rights.