At the opening of Rio Oil & Gas 2020, IBP President Clarissa Lins highlighted the resilience and adaptability of the industry in the midst of the crisis caused by Covid-19, which had a strong impact on the oil and gas industry in Brazil and in the world. “This year has been especially challenging, but we have maintained operations and guaranteed the necessary supply. We show everyone that the essentials cannot come short,” he said.

The executive stressed that the industry faces “challenging numbers”, but it is committed to overcoming the current situation. To illustrate the more hostile environment, the IBP president highlighted the projection of a 6% drop in demand for energy and a 30% drop in investments, both data from the International Energy Agency, and a 5% recession in world GDP – forecast by IMF.

To face this scenario, said Clarissa Lins, Brazil needs to remain open and competitive, always guided by the ongoing energy transition towards a low carbon economy.

Minister Bento Albuquerque, on the other hand, listed the recent advances in regulation and the successful block auctions in 2019, with a collection of BRL 84 billion in signature bonuses alone, which “will leverage much higher investments” in the coming years. Looking forward, the minister stated that the challenges are to promote and consolidate the opening of the natural gas and refining markets, which will bring investments to the country and opening of which leads to the possibility of more competitive prices.

The acting governor of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Castro, highlighted the importance of Rio Oil&Gas to draw attention to the industry and help attract investment to the state. Castro also reinforced the relevance of the oil and gas industry to Rio de Janeiro.  “The industry is one of the main sectors for the social and economic development of our state. In addition to moving the economy, it generates jobs and income. And we remain optimistic. The year 2021 will be one of the great challenges and we already have good projections.”

The acting governor also recalled that, according to Firjan’s projections, the industry will generate 26 thousand direct jobs for Rio de Janeiro by 2024.

The acting general director of the ANP, Raphael Moura, highlighted the strength of the industry in this moment of crisis and the need for the country to remain competitive in order to attract investments in this more challenging scenario. “The pandemic has affected the industry more than any other recent event in our history. There are many uncertainties, which point to the need to be more competitive. We must focus on the sustainability and efficiency of our operations. There is no other way for the oil and gas industry.”

According to Moura, “not only will companies need to be more efficient, but regulatory frameworks must also adapt and improve” in this new environment, in order to help reduce costs and mitigate risks, in an effort to increase the attractiveness of the country. “We need to act quickly and efficiently”, he stressed.

Raphael Moura also pointed out that, even in the face of uncertainties, the export of Brazilian oil this year reached a record, and national production should exceed 5 million barrels/day in 10 years. “As a regulatory body, we have to ensure that these changes will take place effectively, thus resulting in a diverse, competitive market environment, capable of attracting investments and, mainly, benefiting the final consumer, without neglecting, of course, national supply”, completed the acting director-general of the ANP.

Innovation – 100% digital Rio Oil & Gas

Cristina Pinho, corporate executive director of IBP and chairman of Rio Oil & Gas, stressed that the pandemic allowed “a leap of innovation” to the event. “This is the most innovative edition ever held by IBP in its history”. This year, the event is, for the first time, 100% digital, with debates on upstream, downstream, energy transition, diversity, female leadership, among other topics.

Clarissa Lins, president of IBP, highlighted the renewal and strategic reorientation of IBP, which now represents all the links in the sector chain through the creation of an association for the downstream, going through an important phase of opening the segment.

Rio Oil & Gas 2020 is sponsored by Petrobras, Equinor, Shell, BR Distribuidora, Ipiranga, BR, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Raízen, Total, Petrogal, Repsol Sinopec Brasil, Siemens Energy, Braskem, Enauta, PetroRio, Salesforce, Dow, Oracle, Solvay, TBG, Techint, United Airlines, Vallourec and Wintershall DEA.

The Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP), started, on Tuesday (7/30), the debates that will be expanded during the Rio Pipeline 2019, the meeting point of the international pipeline community in Brazil, to be held on September 3^rd to 5^th, in Rio de Janeiro. The warmup event, attended by executives from the pipeline sector, highlighted issues such as the challenges and opportunities of the sector in a transition scenario in the mid and downstream segments of the country.

During the opening, Milton Costa Filho, IBP Secretary General, presented the goals and the relevance of Rio Pipeline and was thrilled. “The moment couldn’t be more auspicious, once we are facing significant changes in the market. Besides the privatizations, this opening process released the search for more competitiveness in the sector, what includes the need for team building with qualified professionals to meet the new demands that will arise. All of this, aligned with a moment of energy transition and digital transformation, makes the current scenario the best scenario for Rio Pipeline 2019”, said.

The amplification of discussions about occurrences of fuel theft and accidents resulting from clandestine bypasses is at the center of the operators’ concern. Actions to prevent this practice, reinforce the need to develop intelligence and security programs to ensure the protection of life, the environment, the energy security of the country, and the integrity of the facilities.

Therefore, thinking to hold back frequent theft of fuel in oil pipelines, Mauro Mendes, executive logistics manager at Petrobras, presented the Integrated Pipeline Protection Program (Pró-Dutos), a partnership between the state company and Transpetro. “Pró-Dutos, launched in June, aims to prevent fuel theft in the pipeline network operated by Transpetro”, he explained. “Our goal is to reduce thefts by 75% until December 2021 to minimize risks, operate safely and avoid the impacts of clandestine activities, as thefts often cause leaks of soil-contaminating products and can result in explosion, endangering society, the environment and the assets of companies”, Mendes added.

In addition to the Integrated Pipeline Protection Program, Mauro Mendes commented on the significant steps Brazil has been taking in relation to the development of the natural gas and refining and logistics markets. According to the executive, Petrobras will invest about US$ 1.4 billion in refining and US$ 370 million in logistics in the coming years. Also considering the logistics sector, Antonio Rubens, Transpetro’s president, said that the company, Petrobras’ logistic arm, has been preparing for this new moment of transition. “We are preparing to take a new step, focusing on positioning ourselves as a logistics service provider, always maintaining the excellence of our operations,” he said.

Wong Loon, NTS’s president, emphasized the importance of prioritize investments in security, which needs to be linked to a governance and compliance system. “NTS forecasts an investment around R$ 900 million in the next five years, although is looking forward to become more efficient and is preparing for future network expansion and new customer attraction”, pointed out.

According to Gustavo Labanca, TAG president, the company also intends to be prepared to act in the new gas market and to become relevant within five years. “The challenge is to bring new customers to the gas tansmission network in the country “, added.

To Wagner Biasoli, Logum president – that operates the biggest ethanol pipeline in the country – the scenario shows more promising for ethanol in the coming years, driven by RenovaBio, a policy to stimulate the expansion of biofuels. “Thus, the company organizes itself to resume the expansion of its network”, concluded.

Lastly, TBG president, Ivan de Sá, revels how the company is working in a new model of inputs and outputs. “This new model is a joint work with ANP, a considerable step to bring more dynamics to Brazilian gas market. It is an excellent opportunity to reduce unit cost, enabling greater demand for the sector”, said.

The subscriptions to Rio Pipeline Conference & Exhibition 2019 are open. The event is organized by IBP and sponsor by Rosen Group, NTS, AVEVA, Engie, TBG, Intero, Trapil, Plural + Combustível Legal, Worley and Emerson.