The rousing interest of foreign investors in opportunities in the oil & gas and electricity sectors dominated discussions in the panel on Energy, which closed the Brasil Investment Forum 2017 this Wednesday (31) in São Paulo.

For the Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy, Fenando Coelho, the current administration "has already been showing results" of its first year of work, including long-anticipated regulatory framework changes that made rules more flexible for the oil sector, the reorganisation of the energy sector and the prospects of new power auctions.

“We re-established confidence in the oil & gas sector, which was heavily contaminated, and have also resumed talks with the power sector, which had already begun resorting to litigation. We also brought predictability back to both sectors by scheduling future auctions and will continue to pursue our goals to reap results," he said.

Petrobras president, Pedro Parente, said that the opportunities created by the new energy auctions and oil exploration concessions scheduled by the Government are being further complemented by the State oil company's current cycle of divestment and establishment of partnerships in the most diverse areas - especially on the refinement side. The efforts are expected to attract over US$ 40 billion in investment to the company over the next few years.

“We are doing roadshows and taking advantage of opportunities such as this Forum to invite those who are not our partners yet to come and learn more about the opportunities and add to the 40 partnerships we already have with companies from various segments," he said.

For Shell Brasil CEO André Araújo, there is a common feeling throughout the industry that "the expectation is to make Brazil grow again, and that to grow it requires energy”. According to him, however, all the optimism in the air requires a dose of caution.

“We must ensure that Brazil is competitive. We need regulatory stability, to ensure that contracts will be fulfilled. This is something we all need to be vigilant about. There are opportunities on the African Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and we are competing with these areas for investment. Studies show that putting a platform into production creates 300,000 jobs. Leveraging these opportunities to boost competitiveness is a challenge," he said.

This ideal equation of opportunity and competitiveness is also being sought in the biomass sector. Peder Nielsen, CEO of Novozynes (a biomass technology development company that operates in Brazil), said that the country can become a global leader in biomass electricity because it has achieved the lowest production cost for this source of energy in the world.

“Brazil already has all the technology it needs to guarantee first place in this dispute. What is left for us to do is to develop the supply chain. In other words: we are excited, we have major opportunities, and we have created the conditions to develop, but capital will only come when investors feel absolutely comfortable”.

The CFO of Chinese company State Grid, Li Ruge, shares the same opinion. “We see innumerable opportunities to be developed in the country, and we are paying attention to them," he said.