Carlos Tadeu da Costa Fraga, executive manager for the Petrobras research center Centro de Pesquisas e Desenvolvimento Leopoldo Am?rico Miguez de Mello, or CENPES, recently told Petrobras News Agency now is the time for Brazil to establish “one of the most relevant, if not the most relevant technology hubs in the world for the oil and gas industry.”

This, he said, would generate innovative solutions for application in Brazil and in other parts of the world; create opportunities for young Brazilians; offer employment with high added value; and help to accelerate scientific, technological, and social development.

Many foreign companies along with Brazil’s universities, local businesses, national oil company, and supportive regulatory regime are answering that call.

Fostering scientific research

Leading the charge in R&D, Petrobras has allocated 95% of its investment, or US $213.5 billion, toward Brazilian activities over the next four years. Discussing the 2011-2015 Business Plan at a news conference held in late July, Petrobras CEO Jos? Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo said the company will spend US $1.3 billion a year for new frontier exploration, oil recovery, developing a new generation of offshore and subsea production systems, logistics solutions for natural gas, and other technology. Petrobras also partners with 120 universities and research centers, making Brazil one of the leading R&D-focused regions in the world.

In the interest of fostering technological cooperation and knowledge exchange with Petrobras, seven companies have set up R&D centers on the campus of Rio de Janeiro Federal University near CENPES, now one of the world’s largest applied research complexes. Schlumberger was the first to set up shop at the university’s “Technology Park” in 2010. Other companies that have since joined Schlumberger include oilfield services providers Baker Hughes and Halliburton, offshore oil production equipment manufacturer FMC Technologies, Brazil’s Usiminas, which focuses on materials research for presalt production, major steel pipe producer and supplier Tenaris Confab, and technology services and supply conglomerate GE.

Meanwhile, IBM has inaugurated a natural resources solutions center in Rio de Janeiro, where UK-based BG Group – a key player offshore Brazil – expects to invest $1.5 billion in its Global Technological Center by 2021. Additionally, Cameron plans to open an R&D center on the Unicamp campus in neighboring Sao Paulo.

According to a information presented at a BRATECC (the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce) breakfast held in May 2011, Technip, Vallourec & Mannesman, Weather-ford, and Wellstream also were scheduled to set up technological centers in Brazil.

Petrobras is working in partnership with 130 Brazilian R&D organizations. Pictured is the recently expanded research center, CENPES, on Fund?o Island, in Rio de Janeiro. (Image courtesy of Petrobras News Agency)

Partnerships

In June 2011, Petrobras, its subsidiary Petrobras Distribuidora, and Intel Semicondutores do Brasil formed an alliance for future cooperation in energy technology. The MOU focuses on the development of high-performance computing (HPC) solutions in the area of seismic processing and defining research lines in semiconductors and platforms for computing and communications applied to E&P, among other technology-related initiatives.

Also in June, Petrobras and GE Oil & Gas announced a partnership via GE’s recently acquired Wellstream business, which will provide flexible pipe and subsea equipment logistics services to support the development of Campos and Santos basin presalt oil and gas projects for $200 million.

GE has staked a significant position in the future of Brazil’s technological R&D. The company has pledged $500 million to expand operations in the country and plans to build a 55,000 sq m (592,015 sq ft), $90 million base in Niter?i, a commercial hub near Rio de Janeiro, which it said will create around 500 new jobs by 3Q 2012. As well, GE will construct a new $100 million investment global research center in Rio de Janeiro next year. At press time, another of GE’s facilities, the Maca? Service Center in Rio de Janeiro, was undergoing a $30 million refurbishment and expansion.

Speaking at the GE Oil & Gas annual meeting in Florence, Italy, in February 2011, Joe Mostrangelo, vice president, turbomachinery for GE Oil & Gas, said the technological innovation needed to supply the capacity for a rapidly growing market like Brazil takes time and effort. “Innovation,” he said, “is not just finding lightning in a bottle once in a while.” At the same meeting, Andrew Way, vice president, global services for GE Oil & Gas, said GE’s new research facility will benefit from access to the company’s other four established units in the US, Germany, China, and India. “We now have a great network globally,” he said. Sam Aquilano, vice president of drilling and production, added, “Co-location allows technology transfer even quicker.”

According to GE, technological collaboration is key to the industry’s long-term growth. Claudi Santiago, president and CEO, GE Oil & Gas, said, “We want to work on technology that will make the difference over the next 10 years.” Santiago underscored that such partnerships will be critical in the coming years. “We will be incubating the future together,” he said.

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