Brazilian Trade Mission to Bolster North-East Business Links

28 June 2010

A delegation of Brazilian companies and industry bodies will visit Aberdeen this week to build on its oil and gas links with the city.

More than 30 delegates from Rio Grande do Sul will arrive in the Granite City tomorrow [Tuesday, 29 June] and will spend three days in the North-east learning about the energy sector in the area, meeting with counterparts here and investigate business opportunities in and around Aberdeen.

The delegation, headed by the Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Sul [FIERGS] and accompanied by state oil and gas firm Petrobras, will also reveal the business investment environment in Rio Grande and partnership opportunities for North-east firms.

City and shire firms are invited to join the Rio Grande do Sul companies and institutions at the FIERGS – Rio Grande do Sul Presentations event which will be held in the Town House on Thursday [1 July].

Fabio Branco, Mayor of Rio Grande do Sul, will be among the delegates. The group will include representatives of 15 companies and 14 institutions, including Petrobras, the Brazilian Development Bank and the Embassy of Brazil in London.

Aberdeen City Council is supporting the Rio Grande do Sul and UK Trade and Investment Initiative to develop the strategic relationship between the Granite City and its industry with the South Brazilian region.

North-east companies will be given presentations which offer an insight into how to do business and create partnerships with companies based in the Rio Grande do Sul.

The council’s Economic and Business Development project director Gerry Brough will introduce the event, which will include a presentation by FIERGS to city and shire firms and a presentation by Petrobras on the Brazilian Pre-Salt Challenges.

There will also be the opportunity for one-to-one meetings and a networking session with the delegates.

Brazil is South America’s largest energy market and has the second largest oil reserves in Latin America. The country achieved net oil self-sufficiency in 2006 and aims to more than double its output by 2010.

The delegates have a busy diary, which includes: visiting the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University; meeting representatives of the Department of Energy and Climate Change and learning about the UK licensing and tax regime; discussing the UK’s supply chain development with Oil & Gas UK’s supply chain director Brian Kinkead; meeting Aberdeen Lord Provost Peter Stephen; and meeting with the Aberdeen Renewal Energy Group (AREG).

They will also receive presentations on:
· economic development in Aberdeen, delivered by Aberdeen City Council’s director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Gordon McIntosh;
· the ability of the UK supply chain to assist in Brazil’s pre-salt area, delivered by Subsea UK;
· partnering with Scotland, delivered by Scottish Development International;
· various oil and gas industry training courses on offer in the city.