Rio Oil and Gas is Coming Up

By Juliana Tafur, Editor & Publisher

RIO DE JANEIRO – “If companies are in the oil and gas industry, they can’t sit back and wait. If expanding their business is in their horizons, Brazil should be the choice,” says Reidun Beate Olsen, Norway’s Commercial Affairs Consul in Brazil, and the head of Innovation Norway in the country.

Reidun’s words come in good time, because preparations are underway for Brazil’s largest event for the offshore industry, called Rio Oil and Gas. Twelve countries are already signed up for this year’s event, due to take place from September 13 to 16. Considered the largest oil & gas expo in Latin America, it’s expected to occupy the entire Riocentro Convention Center – an area of 35,000 square meters.

The 2008 event had 39,000 visitors, 1,200 exhibitors and 5,000 conference delegates. Among those in attendance was Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. As in past years, Norway will participate under the slogan “the energy giant” and the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Mr. Terje Riis-Johansen will represent the country.

“Normally we start signing people up for the event a year before, but this year it was so on-demand that clients began to look for exhibition information in May of last year, so we started accepting entries early,” says Renata Ferreira, responsible for the Norwegian Pavilion at Rio Oil and Gas.

“Norwegian awareness about the Brazilian market is growing a lot,” she adds. “During the event, the idea is to promote Norway as the best partner for Brazilian companies.” The Norwegian pavilion was fully booked as of October 2009 and Ferreira says they still have companies on the waiting list.

Since Brazil’s pre-salt fields were discovered, Norwegian oil and gas companies began to show a lot more interest in the Brazilian market. Used to tough weather conditions at sea and equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the Scandinavian country quickly became one of the preferred partners for dealing with some of Brazil’s most complex offshore challenges.

Rio Oil and Gas serves as an opportunity for new companies to network, as well as for already established companies to maintain their network-base by being visible. “A lot of people will go there to remind each other that they exist,” says Reidun. “Some companies in high demand of equipment will go there seeking suppliers for their portfolio and others will be there displaying their latest technology.”

But regardless of the aim, Reidun is clear: “Brazilian culture is all about relations and you can’t make relations by sitting in Norway.” She highly encourages people to participate, even if they don’t have a stand at the expo. “Come to the other events,” she says, “go to the NBCC dinner, participate in the seminars and meet people.”

Here’s a list of some of the events tentatively planned by the Norwegian community (exact dates and times yet to be released):

-The Norwegian Brazilian Chamber of Commerce will organize a dinner for members to network and further business ties. It’s expected to be the highlight of Rio Oil and Gas, with more than 400 people in attendance.

-Innovation Norway will have an opening ceremony at the Norwegian Pavilion, in which the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Mr. Terje Riis-Johansen, will be introduced.

-Innovation Norway will hold a seminar in cooperation with Eksportfinans on the subject of ‘Financing Projects in Brazil’.

-Intsok/Innovation Norway will hold a seminar for Norwegian companies entering Brazil to learn from other already-established Norwegian companies.

-Intsok, Apex Brasil and Innovation Norway will jointly hold a seminar on the ‘business opportunities in the oil and gas industry’, with an emphasis on opportunities with Petrobras.

For more information on these and other events being held, be on the lookout for a new section to be added briefly to NBCC’s website.

For details on how to participate on Rio Oil and Gas, go directly to their website.
Note: Registration is encouraged by the 31st of July.