In partnership with epbr agency, a set of podcasts were recorded during the event at the OTC Brasil Studio, a brand-new action in IBP events. The agency team interviewed oil and gas CEOs and executives about the sector challenges and opportunities in a resumption of the offshore investments.

Podcast is a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device.

The podcasts recorded at the OTC Brasil Studio are available for download here or in your favorite podcast app.

The partnership also produced press coverage of the event, plus the follow up on key presentations. The news about OTC Brasil 2019 are available here.

Upstream Daily Newspaper

Long-established at oil and gas industry events, the Upstream Newspaper delivered – in partnership between OTC and IBP – daily edition exclusive for OTC Brasil 2019. The daily editions, in English and Portuguese, circulated through the exhibition during the three days of the event, bringing a summary of the main activities. All the editions are available at the newspaper website and at OTC Brasil website.

OTC Brasil 2019 was sponsored by Petrobras, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Petrogal, Total, Repsol Sinopec, TechnipFMC, Vallourec, PetroRio, Aker Solutions, Frank’s International, Maha Energy Brazil, Shawcor, Solvay, Halliburton, Enauta, and MOL.

OTC Brasil held its fifth edition 29–31 October at the SulAmérica Convention Center in the heart of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Organized by the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) and the Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP), attendance surpassed organizers expectations with more than 15,291 attendees from 48 countries.

“We were very impressed with the high technical level of the program that was also recognized by the participants. The current industry moment in Brazil and the upcoming auctions sparked even more interest in the conference,” said Marcos Assayag, OTC Brasil Chairperson. José Firmo, IBP President followed Assayag´s enthusiasm. “The presence and engagement of all of the oil and gas industry at OTC Brasil 2019 was a positive surprise. The level of interest was beyond expectation,” said Firmo.

Attendance from government dignitaries, such as Bento Albuquerque, Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Décio Oddone, Executive Director of the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANP), and Wilson Witzel, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, emphasized the upcoming pre-salt bidding rounds in the country.“Brazil’s bid rounds have attracted widespread interest and investments, which should assist the South American country in its quest to become one of the world’s top five oil producers,” explained Bento Albuquerque, Minister of Minister of Mines and Energy.

The comprehensive technical program featured four plenary sessions, 22 special sessions, and 40 technical presentations. This year, the event focused in the changing conditions of the Brazilian gas market, exploration and production in ultra-deep waters of the pre-salt province, and the impact of the digital revolution on the offshore sector.

On Wednesday afternoon, a standing room only audience of 400+ delegates were present for the plenary session moderated by IBP Emeritus Board Member Jorge Camargo. The session was guided by key E&P executives who discussed opportunities in deep water development, as well as the global impact of new business models. The highlights were offered by Carlos Alberto Pereira de Oliveira, E&P Director, Petrobras, Stephen Greenlee, Upstream Business Development President, ExxonMobil, Arnaud Breuillac, E&P Director, Total, and Margareth Ovrum, CEO, Equinor Brasil, and Uwen Ukpong, Chief Global Operations Officer, Baker Hughes.

During the conference, OTC and IBP recognized the 2019 Distinguished Achievement Award recipients. Carlos Tadeu Fraga was honored for individual achievement, and Petrobras’ EWT Libra Project was recognized for corporate achievement. Both of these achievements are truly significant contributions to the E&P sector.

Additional highlights at the Awards Luncheon included discussions about repositioning Petrobras in a changing world with keynote speaker Roberto Castello Branco, Petrobras CEO. “More competition and the entry of new players from all the production chain, including exploration and production, refining and the natural gas segment is good for everyone, including Petrobras,” said Castello.

Demonstrating the excitement surrounding Brazil’s repositioning as a key player in the global E&P arena, the exhibition covered 3,400 net sq meters with 180 service and operating companies showcasing the latest technologies, and innovative products and services.

For the first time the exhibition offered interactive sessions in the newly created Offshore Arena, with emphasis on FPSOs, subsea solutions, marine renewable, and digital transformation in the E&P sector.

The Business Rounds also held more than 200 meetings promoted by the National Organization of the Petroleum Industry (ONIP), the Micro and Small Business Support Service in the State of Rio de Janeiro (SEBRAE), and the Industry Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FIRJAN).

OTC Brasil is sponsored by Petrobras, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Petrogal, Total, Repsol Sinopec, TechnipFMC, Vallourec, PetroRio, Aker Solutions, Frank’s International, Maha Energy Brazil, Shawcor, Solvay, Halliburton, Enauta, and MOL.

OTC Brasil 2021 will take place 26–28 October 2021 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The president of the Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP), José Firmo, warned the O&G industry on Thursday about the risk that investments to develop the auctioned areas in recent years will inflate prices again, as occurred at the beginning of the decade. He participated in the panel “How to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of the oil and gas supply chain”, on the afternoon of the last day of OTC Brasil 2019, and stressed the need to keep costs under control for Brazilian oil to remain competitive in relation to competitors.

“The amount of money attracted to Brazil over the last three years makes everything that was done before seem small. We are doing the right thing and we need to keep doing the right thing”, he said, highlighting the need to take advantage of the current moment to integrate fact the whole chain to the global market. “A real market opening is different from a market opening”, he added.

The IBP estimates that at least 11 FPSOs will be contracted over the next five years. For the president of the Brazilian Association of Petroleum Services Companies (Abespetro), Claudio Makarovsky, Brazilian companies will adapt to meet demand if they know exactly what the demand will be. “We’ve had a lot of bad experiences in the past and we don’t want to repeat it. No one in this room will want to do 18 probes again”, he said.

For Makarovsky, the strategy requires realigning prices and sharing risks between operators and suppliers. “Suppliers need to be engaged earlier in projects and risks and benefits need to be balanced”, he explained.

For Petrobras supply chain director Cláudio de Araújo, the company is prepared to share risks with suppliers as a way to reduce contracting costs. He did not detail how this could be done, but stressed that the company needs to work with more standardized projects as a way to reduce prices.

During the last lecture lunch of OTC Brasil 2019, IBP’s Executive Secretary for Exploration and Production, Antonio Guimarães, spoke about the need for the industry to frame its projects with a breakeven point of less than US$40 per barrel and maintain the balance and sustainability of the projects.

To this end, he said, during the development phase of production it is necessary to seek standardization of platforms and other equipment, to equate the dependence of few suppliers, to maintain a favorable environment of local content rules on a competitive basis, as well as a scenario of fiscal stability and regulatory – which ensured the resumption of auctions. “A competitive local industry with a diversity of suppliers and competition among them is good for the industry and for the country, which will receive major investments in the coming years”, he said.

Digital transformation

Digital transformation is a challenge even for technology companies. This was one of the main messages from the participants of the plenary session on the theme, which ended the programming of OTC Brasil 2019 and was attended by representatives of Google, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft.

For Ana Paula Assis, IBM general manager for Latin America, even in the technology sector, companies that started after the third industrial revolution are taking advantages over those that were already established.

Ana Hofmann of Microsoft’s industry area said the company is studying why disruptive companies like Tesla and Uber are in some cases more efficient than the company. For her, it is clear that it is not for lack of investment in technology. The main problem is in corporate culture. “If you are afraid to make decisions, you will waste time”, he said.

In the case of the industrial sector, however, João Carlos Bolonha, from Google Cloud, also highlighted the need for greater agility in decision making. According to him, companies are looking for new solutions, but very slowly. For Arno Van De Haak, owner of Amazon O&G, the reason is that companies in the industry are very concerned about safety when deciding.

Future Professional

Aimed at young audiences, Professional of the Future reached its 18th edition during OTC Brasil 2019. Under the theme “Changing the Game: New Career Opportunities and the Role of Young People in a Changing Industry”, the event brought together, in part in the morning and afternoon, CEOs, HR leaders, and young professionals address the impacts that the resumption of investments in the industry, the energy transition, and technological advances can have on the job market.

According to Eduardo Chamusca, country director of SBM Offshore in Brazil, unlike the service industry, which has more disruptive business models such as Uber, the energy world requires hardware. “So don’t ask yourself too much whether your decision to work in the O&G, energy, or anything engineering industry is right or wrong. Demand will always exist for smart people”, he said.

Jaume Vergés, PetroRio’s HR, Innovation, Management, IT and Administration manager, pointed out some of the soft skills valued by employers that can be amplified or developed over time, such as imagination, creativity, curiosity, empathy and resilience, as well as emotional and social intelligence, teamwork, and critical and adaptive thinking.

“You have the references. You are ready, have the technical knowledge to enter the market”, he said, pointing to consultancies, startups – or companies that have such a culture – and large and dynamic organizations as the three most suitable profiles for young people to develop these skills early in their careers.

Exhibition Area

The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) is present at the exhibition with a daily schedule of lectures, covering topics ranging from RD&I clause and regulatory improvements to the exploration phase in E&P contracts in Brazil. The Agency promotes next week the mega auction of surplus assignment on 6/11 and the 6th Round of pre-salt sharing on 7/11.

The technology is present at the Petronect booth, B2B shopping portal, which focuses on the user experience. The company brings two activations, including that of a flight simulator. To participate, the visitor must read the trip briefing and check in with the company’s electronic signature technology.

The IBP booth welcomed Raquel Filgueiras, senior economist in the Institute’s Economic Analysis area, to talk about the oil and gas industry and its relevance to Rio de Janeiro. With 30 percent of its industrial GDP and 24 percent of its 2018 revenue going to the O&G sector, the state is Brazil’s largest oil exporter and has proven reserves larger than Mexico’s. The expert also addressed forecasts of peak global oil demand, according to key market players, and upstream investments in the country.

Offshore arena

Operating companies operating in Brazil met at the FPSO offshore arena on the second day of OTC Brasil 2019, where they discussed trends for investment, competitiveness, contracting and financing.

Soichi Ide of MODEC spoke about the challenge of digitizing FPSO operations. He explained the process focused on automation in which a new infrastructure was built to enable rapid and scalable analysis. At the same time, he said, “we’ve changed the way we work to an agile model when the product is useful from the earliest stage of development.” In line with this, the company has developed a predictive model to maintain a continuous cycle of operations. “Our focus is to collect data so we can predict the risks”, Ide explained.

OTC Brasil is sponsored by Petrobras, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Petrogal, Total, Repsol Sinopec, TechnipFMC, Vallourec, PetroRio, Aker Solutions, Frank’s International, Maha Energy Brazil, Shawcor, Solvay, Halliburton, Enauta and MOL.

The last day of OTC Brasil 2019 began with the exploration superintendent of the National Agency of Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), Marina Abelha Ferreira, announcing the studies for a second round of permanent offers, with the addition of new areas, many of them onshore, mainly in the North and Northeast of Brazil. According to her, while proven pre-salt gas reserves have increased by 53% over the past two years, onshore there has been an increase of only 7%.

At the opening of the panel on gas market regulation, the ANP superintendent said that today 167 fields in 13 basins produce gas in the country. Most of the gas produced, however, is not available to the market, either due to the characteristics of the production or the lack of infrastructure for outflow. “This is a big challenge,” he summarized, noting that in the Santos Basin, where most production occurs, only in the Mexilhão field, gas production is not associated with oil production.

In the same panel, Equinor’s reserves manager Maria Clara Costa spoke about the company’s successes in increasing the recovery rate of oil and gas. The company has managed to extend oil recovery to 50% and plans to reach 60% by 2045. In gas, recovery is at 77% and the ambition is to reach 85%. “This could add $7.5 billion in value to the company,” he said, noting that Equinor also works to reduce production costs.

In another panel, Francisco Francilmar, PetroRio’s chief operating officer, spoke about the potential of mature fields and recalled that the company was one of the first to awaken to this opportunity. Like Equinor’s executive, however, he stressed the importance of reducing operating costs per barrel, which in Brazil is more than double that of Norway.

Along with representatives from the industry, operators and suppliers, the executive participated in a panel on challenges for the development of engineering projects.

Genesis engineering market development manager, Luiz Octavio Bandeira, drew attention to the opportunities that exist in fields already in operation and not just in greenfield (new) projects.

He highlighted the industry learning in recent years and behavioral characteristics that have helped the company to work on projects with partners from various countries, but drew attention to the strong dependence of people, in other words, the need for greater organization and processes to systematize the knowledge.

SBM Offshore’s technology manager, Guilherme Pinto, highlighted the importance of developing supplier clusters, with project design, engineering, regulatory knowledge and on-site execution capabilities. This, he said, is essential for convincing a foreign supplier or operator to execute a project in the country. “I have been talking to hundreds of engineering companies in the country and it is amazing how, besides being very good, they are very integrated with the global market, with what is done in the sector,” he explained.

With a new laboratory, Petrobras bets on innovation ecosystem

Nicolás Simone, Petrobras’ director of digital transformation and innovation, was the last speaker in the series of breakfasts that opened the three-day OTC Brasil 2019 program. He highlighted the company’s pursuit of disruptive solutions and reinforced the state’s interest in integration with the innovation ecosystem of suppliers, startups and also employees of the company with good ideas.

To this end, the operator is opening a new laboratory at Cenpes, the Corporate Lab, whose focus goes far beyond the development of engineering projects. “We want the most from the startup ecosystem. Developing the oil and gas value chain and renewing the internal culture,” he said, noting that innovations can occur in the financial and legal areas with the use of artificial intelligence, for example. “We’re looking for startups within the company as well. Sometimes there’s a group of people in the company with good ideas. We can take advantage of them.”

OTC Brasil is sponsored by Petrobras, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Petrogal, Total, Repsol Sinopec, TechnipFMC, Vallourec, PetroRio, Aker Solutions, Frank’s International, Maha Energy Brazil, Shawcor, Solvay, Halliburton, Enauta and MOL.

Technology advancement in recent years such as cloud computing, analytic and artificial intelligence have accelerated the pace of digitalization in oil and gas production. A key enabler for industry 4.0 (fourth industrial revolution) is “digital twin,” that is, exchange of digital data, access to virtual information of installations or industrial products.

This enables decentralization through  the acquisition and exchange of data  plus access to a great variety of information, making it easy to interchange operations at an unprecedented level.

Relevant knowledge include evidences from bibliometric analyses in oil fields equipped with advanced technology.

This requires 3D/4D visualization of geological data; graphical computing; visual computing; visual interpretation; memory capacity for a greater volume of data; stereo display; visual modeling; integrated communication and long range training; high production volume (HPV); high performance computing (HPC); horizontal drilling; extended reach drilling (ERD) and sidetrack drilling.

In ultra-deep water explorations, the sector researches new water treatment technologies. GE announced that the new membrane created for Sea Water Sulfate Removal (SWSR) was approved by Petrobras.

Installing a membrane injection plant allows time reduction; identification and solution for bottlenecks and improve field workforce efficiency among other advantages.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enables the implementation of at least eleven applications; six types of visualization capacities; six types of advanced analytics and four groups of equipment, including various types of connectivity.

Tomographic Imaging & Porous Media Laboratory is one of the largest tomographic facilities in North America focused on Crack-Tip (CT) that is, scanning core and laboratory experiments for the oil and gas industry.

Some analysts believe that the potential economic impact enabled by the use of digital technologies will total more than $370 billion by 2025.

Oceans offer many energy opportunities, but domesticating them requires investment, skilled people, and especially high technology. This was shown by representatives of nearly a dozen companies, including the global directors of exploration and production of the world’s largest oil companies, who participated in OTC Brasil 2019 on Wednesday afternoon (30/10).

For IBP emeritus Board Member, Jorge Camargo, the energy transition changed the scenario of competition in the oil and gas sector. “We always had to compete, but the competition itself has changed. We now have to compete with other industries”, he said at the opening of the panel “How to increase competitiveness in deepwater projects.”

ExxonMobil E&P Director Stephen Greenlee responded to Camargo’s provocation by defending the competitiveness of the offshore industry. According to him, despite the challenges of the energy transition, there is still a great potential for oil and gas production, especially in deep water. Exploiting it, however, requires creativity. “Our ability to exploit these resources (deepwater oil) over the past ten years has increased considerably. They compete very favorably”, he said.

Total E&P Director Arnaud Breuillac recalled that the challenge of having profitable projects with technology and innovation is to attract young talent to the sector. For him, this is one of the biggest challenges in the industry, as deepwater projects are competitive even when compared to the so-called US shale oil.

Baker Hughes Chief Operating Officer Uwem Ukpong recalled that the discovery time for the first oil has gone from 20 years to 5 years. To further improve this brand, as proposed by Petrobras, whose goal is a thousand days, he stressed that it is necessary to invest more in collaboration between operators and suppliers. “Technology and collaboration are what will take us to the next step”, he said.

Petrobras presented its 1,000-day challenge, but the company’s E&P director Carlos Alberto Pereira de Oliveira stressed that competitiveness has always been a goal of the company, whose cost of capital has historically been higher than its competitors. Now, he said, the focus is on pursuing disruptive projects. “We need to think about disruptive models, and that is the only way we can increase competitiveness”, he said, noting that one of the company’s steps towards reaching the mark of less than three years until the first oil is to be 100% sure that it will find oil by drilling a well.

Equinor Brazil CEO Margareth Øvrum also spoke of energy transition, technology and innovation, but like the Petrobras director, she has not forgotten the costs inherent in the operation in Brazil. According to her, it is important to remove unnecessary complexities and invest in innovation, as the company proposes in the new research center it inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro, but one cannot lose sight of tax and regulatory aspects. “Brazil is improving regulation, but still needs to simplify its tax collection system”, she said.

Renewable energy

In the offshore renewable energy panel, companies such as Equinor, Aquatera, Deme, Aker, SBM and Petrobras presented the projects, most of which are already being developed in various parts of the world. According to Petrobras technical advisor on the Libra project, Fabio Passareli, renewable energy generation in offshore pre-salt oil exploration areas will play an important role in reducing the carbon footprint of these projects. The development of these initiatives, however, depends on reducing equipment costs to make them viable.

Veronica Coelho, Vice President of Equinor in Brazil, showed a wind generation project associated with oil rigs supported by the Norwegian government. According to her, this type of solution fuels platforms, helps reduce the carbon footprint of the oil production operation and also releases gas for sale or reinjection.

Rafael Torres, director of business development at SBM Offshore, presented a floating wind turbine suitable for high depths. In Brazil, he said, technologies like this should come true in Brazil in four or five years.

According to Professor Segen Estefen, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, such structures may be quite suitable for the coast of the country, which has high wind generation potential.

Female leadership

The oil and gas sector seeks alternatives to expand female inclusion, which was theme of the panel “Women in the Oil and Gas Industry: Improving Profitability and Results”. Anelise Lara, Petrobras’ executive director of Refining and Natural Gas, said there is still a long way to go to achieve income parity between men and women. “Today, only 17% of oil and gas executives and seniors are women.”

But female leaders are already seeing advances and argue that diversity improves companies’ performance. Kim McHugh, vice president of Drilling at Chevron, said that “women must already be ‘sponsors’ of other female talents” and “change the unconscious corporate culture of bosses when it comes to distributing opportunities.”

Margareth Øvrum, CEO of Equinor Brasil, who mentors many young people, especially women, emphasized the importance of leadership in this regard. “Earlier in my career, I heard from bad leadership, facing a problem I could solve, that my job would be to ‘get coffee and cookies for the boss’. He is no longer in the company”, she said.

Exhibition Area

At the exhibition, Petrobras brought two major themes: Pre-salt and the Libra Project. Divided into multiple environments, the booth features four interactive displays featuring highlights of its operations, including a video about the next pre-salt P-68 platform and an animation of the Project’s five pioneering technologies. Libra, who received the OTC Distinguished Achievement Award on Wednesday for the field’s long-term test (TLD).

The booth also features a free daily schedule of lectures, plus the Pre-Salt Mission, an interactive dashboard that simulates pre-salt operations using joysticks, and Connections with Innovation, an environment in which startups are interested. can speak directly to the operator’s technicians.

OTC Brasil is sponsored by Petrobras, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Petrogal, Total, Repsol Sinopec, TechnipFMC, Vallourec, PetroRio, Aker Solutions, Frank’s International, Maha Energy Brazil, Shawcor, Solvay, Halliburton, Enauta and MOL.

The Libra project, the largest pre-salt discovery to date, was the highlight of the morning of the second day of OTC Brasil 2019. Petrobras and its consortium partners were awarded the Distinguished Achievement Awards for the Long Term Test (LTD) of the field.

Petrobras CEO Roberto Castello Branco stressed Libra’s importance, its high productivity and all the innovation and technology involved in the exploration and development phase of the field, as well as the challenge for the company, the operator of the area, and for the partners (Shell, Total and the Chinese CNOOC and CNPC) of the venture.

According to the executive, Libra is an example that Petrobras has been pursuing. “We are increasingly seeking to increase efficiency and operate at a low cost in a new world industry scenario in the face of the energy transition,” said Castello Branco, during the presentation of the award during the OTC Brasil 2019 lecture luncheon.

OTC Brasil chairman, Marcos Assayag, stressed the importance of the technological advances implemented in the innovative, ultra-deepwater project at the global level, especially in a field with giant oil and gas reserves.

Competitiveness

Castello Branco also said that Brazilian industry and Petrobras have to be guided by the constant pursuit of competitiveness, in a new environment from the growth of US production – from importers to exporters of oil and gas in a few years. “This advent changed the market and also promoted reindustrialization in the United States. We have to be even more competitive, efficient and low cost, always having safety as a fundamental premise, ”he said.

The president of Petrobras also highlighted the opening of the Brazilian market to new agents in all links of the chain, citing exploration and production, refining and the natural gas segment.

“More competition and the entry of new agents is good for everyone, including Petrobras,” said the executive.

The company’s focus, reiterated Castello Branco, to invest in fields with the highest possible return, such as Libra and Búzios.

In addition to Libra, OTC Brasil 2019 chose former director of Cenpes (Petrobras research center) and current president of Prumo Logística, Carlos Tadeu Fraga, for the Distinguished Achievements Awards for individuals for his leadership in developing new technologies for pre-salt.

According to IBP president-elect Clarissa Lins, Tadeu Fraga led the strategy of transforming Petrobras’ investments in research and development. “He represents what we are most proud of in a tanker culture: leadership, commitment, integrity, dedication and humility,” he said when he presented the award.

Fraga thanked Petrobras for the opportunity it had. “In 34 years, I’ve had amazing experiences, I’ve met amazing people inside and outside the company, who make this fantastic industry,” he said, stressing that it was the right time, in the right place and with the right people.

Integration

At the opening breakfast of the second day of the event, Halliburton regional manager Adam Champagne presented the case of integrating operators and suppliers into the Libra project. “The project was a success, but it required cultural change on both sides, from operators and suppliers. This was crucial for the success of pre-salt in Brazil, “he said.

The Pioneer Libra FPSO was built with an innovative approach to simultaneous oil injection and gas production, with pressure measurement in different parts of the field from remote monitoring devices. The TLD project played a vital role in mitigating risks from a string of accelerated billion-dollar developments, with dynamic reservoir information fueling the project design.

OTC Brasil is sponsored by Petrobras, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Petrogal, Total, Repsol Sinopec, TechnipFMC, Vallourec, PetroRio, Aker Solutions, Frank’s International, Maha Energy Brazil, Shawcor, Solvay, Halliburton, Enauta and MOL.