President Michel Temer attended the opening session of Rio Oil & Gas, a conference that brings together the entire production chain of the oil and gas segment, this Monday (24 ) in Rio. The 18th edition of the event, the largest in the sector in Latin America and one of the three most important in the world, has as its theme "Pathways to a Competitive Oil Industry". Sessions take place at the Rio Centro convention centre in Rio and last until 27 October.

Organised every two years by the Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (IBP), Rio Oil & Gas will hold nine side events simultaneously with the main conference and exhibition, including the Future Leaders Forum, the largest global meeting of young professionals in the oil industry (organised by the World Petroleum Council and held for the first time in Brazil), and the Asphalt Meeting.

Completing the programme are seven arenas and forums that offer quality information on sector-specific issues such as compliance, knowledge, engineering, financing, onshore production, sustainability and technologies.

The exhibition will feature many of the leading companies of the sector, including Brazil's two largest operators (Petrobras and Shell) and representatives from Argentina, China, France, Holland, England, Israel, Italy, Japan and Norway, among other.

Pre-salt

The Secretary-General of the Brazilian Institute of Oil and Gas and Biofuels (IBP), Milton Costa Filho, assessed that the "Rio Oil & Gas 2016 takes place at an important time in Brazil, with the change of government, and what we have received from the government are quite positive signs; our industry is seeing it as a real recovery”.

Macroeconomic changes and the return of confidence in the economy are fundamental to attracting new investment to the sector in the country. “There is huge competition between countries, and investment decisions will depend a lot on competitiveness, on what we can offer for investors to come to Brazil (...)", he explains.

For the IBP secretary-general, another very important change is the new regulatory framework, which makes it optional for Petrobras to participate in the exploration of the Brazilian pre-salt. He points out that the pre-salt, one of the largest oil provinces in the world, poses challenges for development by a single company, given the current economic scenario and the amount of financial, equipment and human resources required.

“It will be good for Petrobras, because the company can focus on the areas it has, and very good for the country, since other areas will be developed and bring more jobs, royalties and supply chain improvements," he says.

Costa Filho highlights the Brazilian state-owned oil company's capacity to drive development through the entire industry chain in Brazil. “In addition to the large development opportunities in the offshore area (i.e. exploring oil in the ocean), to all this geological potential, the fact that Petrobras has announced a new development plan opens room for companies in the areas of transportation, logistics, gas etc he said.