StatoilHydro is also collaborating with Petrobras, a partner in exploration licence BM-CAL-10 (an offshore block located off the coast of Salvador in the Camamu-Almada Basin) on a project called the School of Waters ("Escola das Águas").
The project, run by the local NGO Instituto Terraguá, provides training in business management and oyster and fish farming in local communities in the area of influence of the block.
The communities targeted by the School of Waters project are some of the poorest in the state of Bahia, and approximately 40 per cent live directly or indirectly off fishing and/or oyster-gathering activities, activities that may potentially be affected by future exploration and production in the surrounding area. Supporting the livelihoods of these communities is therefore vital to the success and sustainability of the potential operation.
The School of Waters provides a space for constructive dialogue with these communities, as well as skills-training in business management, fish/oyster farming and horticulture. In 2007, although the School was not yet fully operational, the project provided training courses for local residents in food safety and sanitation, freezing, packing and transporting of seafood, boat and fishing safety, and the problems and causes of predatory fishing.
In addition to the capacity-building element, a fish farming pilot project was also initiated in which 87 local teenagers participated. The first batch of one and a half tonnes of fish was harvested in July 2007. Some of it was distributed in the communities and the remainder was sold to a fish-processing plant, generating a profit of 200 Reais (approximately USD 120) for each of the teenagers involved. By the time the project is fully operational in March 2008, as many as 700 community residents will have benefited from the project.
The School of Waters project, while still new, has already been recognised for its achievements. In 2007, in competition with more than 270 projects from the whole country, the project was awarded a prize as one of the 20 Best Social Practices in Brazil by Caixa Econômica Federal, a leading Brazilian financial institution.
The project is ongoing and the finalisation of the school in March 2008, was an important milestone in terms of evaluating the project and StatoilHydro's participation.
