NODE Project in Brazil

The amount of new O&G related companies coming to Brazil continues growing and Norwegian companies are some of the most active in this respect. Innovation Norway, which is run by Norway’s Commercial Affairs Office at the Norwegian Consulate in Rio, has been highly supportive to Norwegian companies seeking to set-up in Brazil. NCE NODE, has a joint network project and is a Norwegian center of excellence, which has helped 25 companies to prepare for entry into the Brazilian offshore market. The network has now split into two. One network with four companies has already decided to establish a jointly-owned business in Brazil. The other network of eight companies are establishing a type of marketing network that is currently negotiating with companies in Brazil that can represent them.

Network 1 is now established with four shareholders in the company: Bestra, Devotek, Andersen Mek and Hans Inge Bollingmo. Network 2 has been established as a sales network. It currently has three companies: NYMO, Umoe and Southern Marine. Agreements with local companies in Brazil are being made on an ongoing basis. Several companies are waiting to make a decision, but we have reason to believe that more will join.

Another of these companies which has recently struck a partnership with a Brazilian company is the O&G technology company Noba Tech, which signed a agreement in April 2013 to establish a subsidiary in Brazil and a partnership with Brazilian industrial group HTS. Noba Tehc do Brasil will be a subsidiary of Noba Tech AS and the agreement includes the training of HTS workers in Norway. HTS is located in Minas Gerais, in Brazil’s interior southeast region, which is one of 5 regions which will harbor the “Arranjo Produtivo Local” project (APL) or Local Productive Arrangement, which was launched by Petrobras and partners. Noba Tech AS is actually a JV between 3 Norwegian companies that take part in the NCE NODE cluster. There are currently 110 Norwegian companies in Brazil, 75% of which are in the O&G and Maritime business.

This gives an idea of how the Brazilian O&G market is attracting specialized foreign companies, most with long experience in the O&G business that are looking for Brazilian companies to partner, in part because of the local content demands. This can only be a good omen for the Brazilian O&G market as these foreign companies are mostly also partaking in technology transfer with their Brazilian partners.

The NODE Brazil project started in 2009, and is focused on the Brazilian O&G market. The two largest companies in NODE, National Oilwell Varco Norway AS and Aker MH AS, have already prequalified to deliver equipment to the large number of drill rigs/FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) that will be built in coming years.