Brazil has a window of opportunity before peak oil demand, says IBP`s President
Columbia University specialist says Brazil is at an advantage in the energy transition scenario and able to be one of the five largest global O&G producers
The Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP) president, Jose Firmo, highlighted the relevance of the Brazilian O&G industry and the necessity to take advantage of the “window of opportunity” to convey pre-salt reservoirs into wealth and job generation for society, during the event “Peak Oil and the Brazilian Pre-salt” promoted by IBP in partnership with Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro and the Energy Economics Group, Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Firmo emphasized that this “window” is reduced by the projection of the world hits peak demand between 2030 and 2050. To not waste this opportunity, says, it is fundamental that the country lead a full tax reform that assemble several industrial segments and improvements in O&G sector regulations – where already had some gains, as the fixed bid rounds calendar.
Keynote speaker of the event, Antoine Halff, the Director of the Global Oil Program at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University (New York), stated that “Brazil can be a winner at this energy transition scenario and can be one of the five biggest oil producers of the world” due to pre-salt, that competes with American shale oil.
Halff also said that Brazil outranks in quality of crude and stability rules, if compared to Latin America competitors, such as Mexico and Venezuela, respectively.
According to Halff, there are many projections and not a consensus about when will oil demand reach its peak; conservatives indicate 2050, and pessimists over the next half decade. “We are not sure, but we see a downturn in oil consume with the advancing of new energy sources”.
The Director considered yet, that less than 25% of oil is used in automobiles. Thereby, even the uncertainties about the coming demand, the multiple usages and the growing energy demand from Asiatic countries, especially India and China, will be decisive aspects to maintain the global oil consume.