Bahia Oil & Gas Energy 2023 boosts the Oil & Gas industry in Bahia

After a period of lethargy in the Oil & Gas market in Bahia, the state that played a pioneering role in the discovery of oil in the country, housing the first refinery and the first petrochemical complex in Brazil, has finally awakened. The event Bahia Oil & Gas Energy 2023, held in Salvador this May, confirmed this recovery and brought optimism to the segment.

The meeting, organized in only three months, but with much enthusiasm by Sebrae, Associação Brasileira dos Produtores Independentes de Petróleo e Gás (ABPIP) [Brazilian Association of Independent Oil and Gas Producers], Petronor and Instituto Politécnico da Bahia, was an absolute success, definitely entering the trade fair calendar in Brazil. The main reason is clear: the heating up of the Bahia market.

Bahia, where the oil and gas industry was born, was also the pioneer in the entry of private companies in the E&P area, such as PetroReconcavo, which has been operating in the area for years. The state provided the opportunity for other important private companies to come on board with Petrobras' wise decision to concentrate its activities in the areas of greatest need for technology and investment, such as the Pre-Salt, where it has been making successive successful discoveries and production. Regarding to this, the local market, added to the sale of RLAM to the Mubadala group, is providing important business opportunities with its need to invest in maintenance and debottlenecking.

The segment presented itself and the market reacted. In a short period of time, the Bahia Oil & Gas Energy 2023 organization was able to hold a successful trade show, thanks to the evident demand from the sector. The immediate presence of suppliers of engineering, equipment, solutions and services proves that, when there is a market, they are ready to attend.

The fair seemed small due to the reduced size of the stands, since the organizers rightly preferred to prioritize a larger number of exhibitors. For sure, the next fairs will be bigger and bigger.

The expectation for the production of oil equivalent, which today is around 100,000 boe/day, is to triple within a year, with the investments and the retaking of the fields. We hope that the political routing of the use of the Bahia Terra Pole will allow its prompt entry into operation, in such a way that the 6,000 boe/day can soon increase to 20,000 boe/day. We have an excellent example with PetroReconcavo in the Remanso field, where, after its acquisition, it achieved production records. The wide success of Bahia Oil & Gas Energy is a consequence of this strength in the segment.

The Fair had three busy days, with many visitors and interesting business opportunities. FLUXO was in high demand in the area of energy, of chemical recycling of plastic waste, and in its various activities in the Oil & Gas area.

It was an opportunity that had been dammed up for the meeting of different generations of professionals in the industry. I was also happy to meet Aleixo Belov, with whom we started parallel activities in the area 50 years ago. He was the one who helped us build the module loading pier, which we built for the Cherne and Pampo platforms.