Forging energy links with Brazil
19/03/2010
NSIG leading trade mission to Rio & Macae
Businesses from Scotland’s Highlands and Islands are bound for Brazil to pursue opportunities in South America’s biggest energy market.
The three companies, all providing specialist oil and gas and other services internationally, will meet key energy industry decision-makers in Brazil’s second city, Rio de Janeiro, and in Macae, the country’s main oil and gas operations centre.
As the Highlands and Islands continues to make its mark as the country’s ‘new energy’ hub, the businesses are going with the region’s North Scotland Industries Group for the four-day trade mission, starting on Monday, organised by Scottish Development International.
James Mowatt, design engineer and owner of Caithness firm MTDS, will be back in Brazil after earlier contacts through which his company are already set to run a full-scale demonstration project for their revolutionary ‘slow water’ renewable power turbine on the Amazon River. He said: “Apart from the turbine project, we know we can bring innovative techniques in designing machinery and plant in a range of energy fields, including responsible and safe decommissioning work, of which we have huge experience through our work at Dounreay.”
John Macritchie will represent Inverness-based international recruitment agency the Orion Group, 19 of whose 28 offices are overseas. He said: “I will be there to explore how we might set up in Brazil to supply personnel to the energy sector, taking into account key challenges there, which include visa, work permit and tax compliance issues.”
Orkney business Opus Plus are represented by Business Development Manager Rik Dawson. The Opus company, who employ 20 on the island of Flotta within their wider UK-based operation, develop and provide process optimisation, installation and other oil and gas services. Their Orkney-developed ‘Mares Tail’ device, which removes residual oil from water discharged as by-product from oil and gas production units, is already in use in locations including offshore UK, Indonesia, West Africa and Brazil itself. A new generation Mare’s Tail is set for market launch later this year.
NSIG chief executive Ian Couper who leads the Highlands and Islands group on the trade mission, said: “With well over 100 members now, our group are there to identify and bring back practical information on the opportunities and pitfalls in the Brazilian market. The country’s oil and gas sector is maturing and modernising fast but they still need a lot of specialist international inputs, of the kind that our members can supply.”
The trade mission businesses will be meeting market intelligence sources, including British Consulate officials, consultants and UK companies operating locally. They will meet a range of Brazilian businesses, including Petrobras, the country’s biggest operator which is mainly state-owned.
Brazil has massive known reserves of oil, at nearly 15 billion barrels, and huge amounts of gas. Oil production has more than doubled to nearly 2million barrels per day in the past decade. Rapid growth in areas including exploration, drilling, pipelines, and refineries has produced huge technology, skills and labour requirements.