One of the highlights of the last day of Rio Oil & Gas 2020 was the presence of Marc Gerrits (photo), executive vice president of Exploration at Shell, in the panel Less Borders and More Knowledge for the benefit of Offshore Exploration. The executive stressed the importance of partnerships in the oil and gas market, because they open opportunities and allow exploration activities to be carried out more safely and efficiently.

According to Gerrits, drilling wells more efficiently and at a lower cost is a key factor for activities on the pre-salt frontier. “It is exciting to see that the industry is innovating in the pre-salt, making significant progress in this territory and testing new concepts. This has the potential to unlock a whole new business segment, ”he added.

The Decarbonization Opportunities and Challenges session in the O&G Industry was attended by Alejandro Segura, general manager of Shell Brasil for the Nature Based Solutions (NBS) area - a business front focused on actions aimed at neutralizing carbon emissions. He commented that 85% of the company's carbon footprint comes from customers' emissions (when using Shell products) and mentioned that the company works to help them achieve zero net emissions. “Carbon pricing is the most effective route to ensure a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. (...) The legal clarity on the value of these credits is the most relevant ”, said Segura.

In the Research & Development for Deep Waters debate, organized within the Shell Talks program, Diego Juliano, Manager of Submarine Technology at Shell Brasil, explained that, in offshore activities, the technology is capable of considerably reducing emissions. According to him, industry 4.0 is related to the interconnectivity of embedded systems and mobile robotics, and one of the primary objectives is to mitigate risk to people and increase the security of operations.

In its last panel, Shell Talks discussed the theme Intersectionality in the Theme of Diversity & Inclusion. “A very important point for Shell is the retention and attraction of talent. (...) If we want to have different experiences, innovation, evolution, we need to have minds that think differently ”said Luiz Oliveira, external relations advisor and former president and founder of TRUEColors, Shell Brasil's LGBTQIA + network. For him, the ideal of diversity in a society will occur when the discussion on this topic is no longer necessary.

Also this Thursday, the technical congress of Rio Oil & Gas also received George Oliva, E&P project engineer at Shell Brasil, as moderator of the session The Potential of the Decommissioning Industry in Brazil and in the World.