UK O&G tech firms eye Brazilian opportunity

A series of damning safety audits on Brazil’s oil and gas industry could pave the way for fresh market opportunities for UK suppliers of corrosion and integrity services, it emerged on Friday.

Brazil’s main oil and gas regulatory body, Agência Nacional de Petróleo (ANP) conducted 145 audits on oil rigs as part of a safety review. It found 14 cases where non-compliances were considered of “high importance” resulting in the closure of the rigs.

The energy watchdog in total found 1,055 issues of “non-compliances with operational safety items in oil rigs,” said the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), a government company which provides trade advice for local firms.

UKTI has advised local suppliers to “approach the [Brazilian] market”. The trade company also stressed the need for potential partnerships with local firms, due to Brazil’s “strong policy on local content”.

Brazil’s oil giant Petrobras told OGT on Monday that local technology had been used to construct over two thirds of its recently inaugurated platform P-59.