Speech at Rio Oil and Gas

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Rio Oil and Gas is the most important oil and gas event in the southern hemisphere.

Brazil has been a petroleum producer for decades.

And with its latest discoveries in the deep sub-salt layers, Brazil will become a major energy power.

Exploring and developing oil from such great depths confronts you with new technological challenges.

The Norwegian offshore industry has valuable experience from oil and gas activities in extreme conditions.

Without foreign partners in the offshore sector, Norwegian technology would not have been where it is today.

We would not have been able to explore such deep waters.

We would not have been able to increase the recovery rates of our fields so significantly.

We would not have been able to start production in the High North, in areas where cold climate, darkness and lack of infrastructure represent immense challenges.

International partnerships in technology development and innovation, operation and production have made this possible.

And I believe Norwegian-Brazilian partnerships in the Brazilian oil and gas sector will be equally rewarding.

Brazil has developed an advanced offshore industry. And you have world leading competence in deep-sea drilling.

Together, Brazilian and Norwegian world-class expertise could prove decisive in developing the sub-salt layers.

I would like to thank Innovation Norway for organising the Norwegian Pavilion at Rio Oil and Gas together with the Norwegian Consulate General and the Chamber of Commerce. 

It is an honour for me to declare the Norwegian Pavilion at the Rio Oil and Gas 2008 officially open.