Habitats Project - Campos Basin Environmental Studies

Since 2007, Petrobras, along with national research institutes and industry suppliers, has been busy researching physical, chemical, geological, biological and socio-economic characteristics of the Campos Basin, a region that starts at the north end of the State of Rio de Janeiro all the way to the south of the State of Espirito Santo, encompassing an area of some 100 thousand square kilometers.

The project has two main parts, one about fisheries and its socio-economic impact and the other about environmental issues, which is called the Habitat Project. The information is being transformed into a database, which will be used to support decision making concerning environmental issues, environmental management and will also be edited as a scientific publication.

The Campos Basin Regional Environmental Characterization Project came from a demand by the Brazilian Environmental Institute (Ibama) and the database and publications are scheduled to be available to all interested parties by 2012.

It is a little strange that a project like this has not been undertaken sooner since the Campos Basin has seen O&G exploration since the 80´s and it is hoped that the same program will be swiftly extended to the Santos and Espirito Santo Bacins. Important discoveries related to deepwater fishes have already been made and the project is truly leading to a better understanding of the different environments that make up the Campos Basin.

All together 250 researchers, technicians, professors and students are involved in the project, which along with contributing to the quality of information on the Campos Basin environment, also helps in making data easier to find for technical projects for both Ibama and Petrobras, scientific institutions and other government or non-government organizations.

All the data was collected between the coast and the seabed up to 3,000 meters, making it possible to have a very thorough characterization of the Campos Basin.

Claudio Paschoa