UK Companies to Showcase Expertise in Brazil

Since 2012, the UK and Brazil: Partners in Energy trade mission has allowed UK companies to showcase their technology and expertise and build relationships with the Brazilian energy industry.

The mission, now in its seventh year, has been organised by the Department for International Trade (DIT) in partnership with Subsea UK, the Energy Industries Council and Scottish Development International. It has grown significantly with more than 250 guests in attendance last year.

The purpose of the trade mission is to promote UK capabilities in the energy industry, enabling companies to share expertise and reinforce strategic partnerships with the Brazil energy sector.

Flavia Silva, DIT Business Development Manager, Rio de Janerio, said:

DIT has a strong relationship with Subsea UK since their involvement with the first trade mission. The challenges facing the sector in Brazil are similar to those in the UK and therefore there is a wealth of knowledge and technology which can be shared between the two countries. This willingness to share expertise drives our relationship with the UK and Subsea UK.

Subsea UK will lead the subsea section of the event which will enable UK companies to meet with major organisations, including Petrobras, Subsea 7 and Equinor.

During the three-day event, delegates will have the opportunity to present their products and capabilities on June 4 in Rio de Janeiro. In addition, networking sessions and various site visits with established Brazilian contractors will be arranged for delegates by the DIT team.

As part of the UK Government’s strategy to double British exports by 2020, Subsea UK is looking to strengthen global trade partnerships, export subsea expertise and increase the reputation of the sector. Subsea UK recently worked in collaboration with Petrobras to identify gaps in subsea knowledge in the region, including solutions for integrity management, decommissioning and pumping systems.

Neil Gordon, chief executive of Subsea UK said: “Our recent work with Petrobras demonstrated an opportunity for UK companies to share their expertise and technologies in Brazil.

As a DIT Trade Challenge Partner, Subsea UK continues to build a strong relationship with Brazil, focusing on international business, exports and events. Previous missions have been very successful for the companies involved and has introduced promising opportunities available in Brazil.

Jim Hewson of Freudenberg Oil and Gas Technologies, attended last year’s trade mission. He explains that it proved to be invaluable for the company, he said: “The Brazil trade mission allowed us to gain a valuable insight into the workings of a complex country via a variety of mechanisms.

“Freudenberg had a piece of technology that we thought would be well suited to operations down in Rio and therefore it gave us a great opportunity to show operators in the region Freudenberg’s capabilities as a service provider.

This trade mission is beneficial for small, independent service companies like Freudenberg. It provided a very costeffective way of looking at a country and to assess whether you should be doing business internationally.