Page 118: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2014)

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Braga: Spectrum had acquired in-depth from Belém, capital of the state of Pará, availability. knowledge of the Fóz do Amazonas area it is 3150km; from São Luís, capital of “There is the possibility of using because of the intensive 2D program the state of Maranhão, it is 2900km; shared supply bases (regional clusters), they acquired in 2011 and 2012. This and from Fortaleza, capital of the state shared management and supply of ves-

Brazil knowledge complemented nicely CGG’s of Ceará, it is 2600km. Distances from sels (vessel sharing/pool) and rig clubs,” expertise in 3D acquisition, 3D subsur- the exploration blocks to the shore at Pereira said. face imaging, as well as the local-content Fóz do Amazonas, Pará Maranhão and Another logistics problem is related to capabilities of CGG’s centers in Brazil. Barreirinhas basins are long; even at the local mining industry, because a con-

The partnership meant we were able the presalt basins, distances are shorter siderable amount of the available private to provide integrated solutions to our than at the Fóz do Amazonas and Pará port terminals belong to mining and steel customers and secure the environmental Maranhão basins. companies (Anglo Ferrous,Vale do Rio • permit very quickly. Macapá in Amapá to the Fóz do Doce, and Alumar), especially in Macapá

Amazonas basin – 610km and São Luís.

Logistics and environmental issues •

Belém in Pará to the Fóz do Amazonas Other logistics challenges involve

There is very limited infrastructure, such basin – 720km developing an effcient local supplier • as ports and port equipment, refneries, Belém in Pará to the Pará-Maranhão chain and addressing the diffculties equipment transportation, offshore avia- basin – 455km faced by offshore aviation, such as the • tion, environmental services and special- São Luiz in Maranhão to the Pará- need of aircraft charter for long-distance ized labor along the EM. With most of Maranhão basin – 375km fights, with few options for takeoff and •

Brazil’s oil and gas production centered São Luiz in Maranhão to the landing. It may be necessary to have in the southeast, the government has Barreirinhas basin – 235km some form of foating hotel and helicop- • focused on developing the offshore Rio de Janeiro to the Santos basin ter hub between the coast and the plays hydrocarbon potential of the north and – 300km in order to transport rig workers, due to northeast coasts in order to attain a more Since much of the supply transporta- the long distances involved.

even distribution of oil production in the tion may need to be by land, these long Oil spill response infrastructure will country while encouraging the develop- distances may cause delays in delivery also need to be large and robust to be ment of other emerging regions. of supplies and increase costs. “Some capable of dealing with the strong cur-

Operators will need to invest in solutions to the long distances from the rents and large tide variations, as these building up support centers and train- equatorial margin to the supply base remote seas and shores are home to the ing centers in the area, as qualifed local in Rio, in terms of land logistics, may largest mangrove coast in the world and content in northern Brazil is hardly involve multiclient freight consolida- are also dotted by Coastal Conservation abundant. For operators engaged in tion and optimization and the possibility Areas, Marine National Parks, and major exploration drilling, with no guarantee of of creating distribution centers in the river mouths. Primary environmental successfully uncorking reservoirs, large region,” said Renata Pereira, executive studies will also need to be made along infrastructure investments ashore can be director of Brasco, a Brazilian offshore most of the northern coast, onshore a serious risk. logistics company, and part of the Wilson and offshore. This will increase feld

From in Rio de Janeiro, distances to Sons Group. development costs and may also delay • main suppliers are also sizeable. The Companies involved in EM explora- exploratory drilling operations. In some distance from Macapá, capital of the state tion will also face challenges in secur- instances Brazil’s Environmental Agency of Amapá, to Rio de Janeiro is 3600km; ing dedicated shore bases and vessel (Ibama) may not grant environmental licenses to some explora- tion blocks acquired during the 11th bidding round after environmental studies are analyzed.

Also, according to Pereira, some of the potential logis- tics bases are located within the “Legal Amazon,” which demands a compulsory main- tenance of 80% of the native vegetation. This may lead to restrictions in backyard avail- ability. As mentioned earlier, there will be the need to estab- lish more complex and effcient emergency response infrastruc- ture along the EM in order to

Pecém port in the state of

Ceará is another gateway to the equatorial margin.

Photo from Porto de Pecém.

May 2014 | OE oedigital.com 120 116_OE0513_Brazil1_EqMargins.indd 120 4/19/14 10:05 AM