The agreement seeks to promote closer cooperation between the Brazilian Energy Research Office and NBCC.
The Brazilian Energy Research Office (EPE) was created in 2004, and provides the Ministry of Mines and Energy with energy-related studies and research. EPE is an active participant in all discussions involving the Brazilian energy sector, including electricity, oil, natural gas and their derivates and biofuels.
The cooperation agreement signed on December 11, 2019 is the first ever that EPE signs with a chamber of commerce, which is a great honor to NBCC, demonstrating the relevance of the chamber on the current energy scene in Brazil.
Common goals
The agreement was signed by EPE´s Executive President Thiago Barral, José Mauro Ferreira Coelho, also from EPE, and by NBCC president Alex Imperial.
«The Norwegian Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) is pleased to sign this Cooperation Agreement with the Brazilian Energy Research Office (EPE), especially in a context of energy transition, decarbonization of the oil and gas chain and the opening of the gas market in Brazil. This agreement seeks to promote cooperation between EPE and NBCC, allowing the achievement of common goals and closer business relations between both institutions. Cooperation will be achieved through the exchange of information and the development of joint initiatives related to the energy sector», Alex Imperial says.
Present for the signing was EPE Research Analyst Deise dos Santos Trindade Ribeiro, Lawyer Camila Mendes Vianna Cardoso from Kincaid and NBCC manager Runa Hestmann.
Camila Mendes Vianna Cardoso has played an active role in the process leading up to the signing.
«This partnership is very important because it involves the two countries Norway and Brazil, who both seek to develop the energy sector in a sustainable, safe and innovative way. Studies and projects conducted in partnership bring knowledge and insert us in the international debate that is so important and relevant for the development of our country», Ms. Cardoso says.
NBCC and EPE will now identify events and priorities on the 2020 agenda where the two entities have common interests. According to Thiago Barral, the agreement signed is also of great importance to EPE.
«Our office only sign agreements like this because we believe they will add value to our work and Norwegian experiences in the energy sector is of great interest to us. This is the first agreement we sign with a chamber of commerce», Mr. Barral said.
Energy trends
The collaboration between NBCC and EPE actually started even before the agreement was signed this month. In October,
EPE´s Executive President Thiago Barral was one of the keynote speakers at NBCC´s Energy Transition seminar. In his keynote, Mr. Barral listed four main trends in the Brazilian energy sector: Growing E&P investments, due to the pre-salt reserves, increased private participation in the energy infrastructure sector, more diverse financing solutions and cheaper renewables driving the need for improved transmission and storage.
«The Energy Transition event was a good example of what we aim to achieve with this cooperation. We would like to thank EPE for the opportunity, and we hope this partnership will bring many positive outcomes to both institutions», says Alex Imperial.
By Runa Hestmann
(runa.hestmann@nbcc.com.br)
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