Debates involving oil exploration in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin have encompassed energy transition, environmental and social impacts and, more recently, the capacity to generate employment and income. The region comprises the coast of Amapá and extends over 2,200 kilometers to Rio Grande do Norte, covering three states in the Amazon: Amapá, Pará and Maranhão. In all these states, the expectation is that 162,248 jobs will be created with the start of oil research activities, with a total increase of R$32.3 billion to the local Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The data were obtained by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), via the National Industry Observatory. In Pará alone, the survey estimates that 51,706 jobs will be created, providing a 6.2% increase in GDP - the equivalent of R$10.7 billion. Figures were based on the 2019 regional accounts system by Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics], to isolate possible distortions due to the covid-19 pandemic. In this scenario, the states will be responsible for producing the machines and equipment necessary for production, requiring labor force.

The CNI also points out that 326,049 new jobs shall be created in all territories that are part of the Margin, allowing economic development and ensuring security in the energy transition. Petrobras – the company that will initially be responsible for the activities – is betting that the reserves will guarantee oil production levels from the 2030s onwards, in addition to serving for decarbonization. Therefore, the estimate is that 49% of exploratory investments will be allocated by 2027, totaling US$6 billion. There will also be 16 wells drilled on the Margin during the period.

Expectation

In the beginning of April, Petrobras announced the existence of oil in the Equatorial Margin had been confirmed. The discovery was in the deep waters of the Potiguar Basin, in Anhangá exploratory well, located between the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, being the second confirmation in 2024. The news generates expectations for the productive sector of Pará, one of the states exploring that range. For Alex Carvalho, president of the Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Pará (Fiepa) [Federation of Industries of the State of Pará], “the activity represents the opportunity for us to finally equalize differences that have historically relegated us to conditions of backwardness”.

“This expectation increases when we realize that, in other regions, oil exploration has brought great socioeconomic benefits, boosting job generation and income, in addition to other positive impacts arising from royalties, which are reverted to strategic areas for regional development, with improvements in infrastructure, sanitation, education and health. When we see the progress of studies in other areas of the Equatorial Margin, we become anxious to know when our turn will come”, he adds.

Job generation will make the state advance economically and socially

The more than 51,000 jobs that CNI estimates will be created in Pará should boost the state's entire economy, in various sectors, stimulating business emergences, strengthening local suppliers and internalizing purchases, as Fiepa points out. As a result, the impacts of the oil exploration activity are expected to be vectors for the economic and social development of the region. “The oil industry’s production chain is quite extensive and should generate direct and indirect jobs in several areas, whether during the project implementation phase or during the plant’s operation”, says Alex Carvalho.

The job openings that oil exploration should bring to the state range from positions in technical areas, such as industrial maintenance, welding, marine engine mechanics and electricians, to higher education opportunities – It means that areas such as engineering, geology, technology areas, safety and environment, with specialized labor to work in the exploration, production or refining of the material will be potentialized. “As well as job opportunities in the commerce and services sectors, with a boost in the supply of accommodation, transport, equipment, food, clothing and many others”, adds Alex.

Research

Research, furthermore, still has chances of being implemented in order to meet the demands of oil exploration. “Another expectation is that study and research centers in oil exploration will be created to train local professionals, integrate knowledge and develop sustainable practices for fair and inclusive development of the industry. Moreover, in Pará and throughout the Amazon, there are universities that can fully contribute to the academic qualification of necessary professionals for oil activity”, adds the president of Fiepa.

Local struggles need to be overcome

In order to achieve the development estimated by the Federation in the various sectors, some struggles need to be overcome in the region. Alex Carvalho explains that the state's infrastructure still needs repairs to meet operational needs, delaying the growth of activities, such as ports and maritime activities. “The training of local technical and specialized work labor to meet the demands of the project and guarantee the hiring of professionals from the region itself. We will also need investments to qualify local suppliers.”

“The support of the public sector in the release of subsidies, such as Nova Indústria Brasil and Brasil Mais Produtivo, is very important for the renovation and modernization of the state’s industrial park, as well as for the acquisition of technology, as a way of boosting verticalization of production, so that the region can provide the equipment and inputs necessary for the enterprise. Thus, it is also important that industries seek to access these programs and incentives that have been made available by the Federal Government”, emphasizes Carvalho.

Training

The first steps towards training quality work labor to meet demands that may arise with the Equatorial Margin have already been taken. At the Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (Senai) [National Industrial Learning Service], for example, professionals are being trained to work directly to support the operation. Industrial maintenance, welding, marine engine mechanics, electricians and metal mechanics are the areas. Furthermore, when the activities actually begin, it is expected that specific courses will be offered, such as oil and natural gas operators. “The Fiepa System always gets ahead of large projects that are installed in Pará, identifying demands and qualifying people”, says Alex Carvalho.

Sector needs a wide variety of professionals

In the same perspective, the training of professionals to work in the oil industry can be divided into two levels, as explained by Professor João Cruz, head of the Institute of Geosciences (IG) at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA): post-high school, as a Oil and Gas Technologist, and postgraduate education, lato-sensu or stricto-sensu, offered by postgraduate programs accredited by the Ministry of Education (MEC). “Expectations are positive for people graduated in this area, since this sector needs a very wide variety of professionals”, he says.

Areas

The professor highlights that the areas that can cover these vacancies are extensive: geology, geophysics, engineering, economics, law, administration, physics, chemistry, oceanography, meteorology, computer science are natural candidates to embrace one of the careers in the oil and gas sector. “At the current stage of work on the Equatorial Margin, we can say that several exploratory studies are still needed, as most of the reserves found so far still need to be validated, in order to gain market viability”, says João.

“In this case, the most urgent are: geologist, geophysicist, petroleum engineer, well drilling engineer, chemist, petrophysicist, aircraft and sea pilots, platform logistics manager, regulation manager, project manager and economic analyst. Technologists in different expertises are also requested,” he adds.

UFPA already offers a course focusing on the Equatorial Margin

Professor João Cruz is coordinator of a specialization course, offered by UFPA, which focuses on work carried out on the Equatorial Margin. The second edition of the classes will start in August and will teach the application of interpretation techniques based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). “We can train specialists with skills in analyzing geological and geophysical data both on the surface and in wells, with the aim of characterizing environments suitable for the generation, storage and exploration of oil and gas”, highlights Cruz.

“This training is carried out in the EAD (online learning) format, lasting 18 months. Subjects with content focused on the energy transition and environmental sustainability are part of the context of this study. In the future, we plan to also offer this course as Master's in Sedimentary Basin Analysis with AI. In the first edition, 120 places were offered, 30% of which were reserved to cover the quota system, which we intend to repeat in the next offer”, says the professor.

Impacts that the Equatorial Margin can bring to the Amazon

- In Pará

Additional value to GDP of R$10.7 billion, an increase of 6.2%

Creation of 51,706 jobs

- In Amapá

Additional value to GDP of R$10.7 billion, an increase of 61.2%

Creation of 53,916 jobs

- In Maranhão

Additional value to GDP of R$10.9 billion, an increase of 12.2%

Creation of 56,626 jobs

Source: CNI