Brazil's Oil Industry Foresees Expansion

Santos Basin is Fuelling Metro Region Growth

The newly discovered Santos Basin has increased business activity in the Santos Metropolitan Region (Região Metropolitana da Baixada Santista), known as RMBS, which includes the cities of Bertioga, Cubatão, Guarujá, Itanhaém, Mongaguá, Peruíbe, Praia Grande, Santos and São Vicente.

The Santos Offshore show, which took place October 20-24 in Santos city, brought together local leaders, mayors and representatives of the governor, José Serra, and the state secretary of development, Geraldo Alkimin.

Growth of Brazil's Oil Industry

In 2008, Santos Offshore generated about $200 million in business. According business journalist Cynara Escobar, the growth of the oil and gas industry and the World Cup (2014) are both fuelling the Brazilian market and organizers of trade shows and business events estimate an increase of over 20% in 2010.

The oil is there and everybody wants a cut of the revenues generated. Shows like Santos Offshore, designed to showcase opportunities, will become the new norm.

Local governments are improving facilities to attract business to their cities. "We have a military airport and we will reform it so heavyweight helicopters may opperate there," said the mayor of Guaruja, Maria Antonieta de Brito. "On our side of the Santos port we will build new docks for maintenance and support for PETROBRAS (the Brazilian Oil Company) operational ships.

The efforts might really pay off. PETROBRAS, counting on new discoveries of oil and natural gas in the Santos Basin, created a Center for Studies in Sedimentology and Stratigraphy called Rodi Avila Medeiros. The lab will examine and store up to 14 thousand boxes of rocks, representing an investment of $3.6 million. Jose Luiz Marcusso, of PETROBRAS, affirmed strategic investment decisions will be technical not political.

With more than 1.6 million residents, the RMBS is the third largest metropolitan region of the Sao Paulo state in terms of population. During vacation periods the population doubles in size as these cities are all popular tourist destinations.

It's Brazil's time.