StatoilHydro owns a 100 per cent stake in the large Peregrino field off Rio de Janeiro, and six exploration licences. In the eighth bidding round in 2006 and in the ninth bidding round in 2007, we were awarded three and two additional exploration blocks, respectively.
We also cooperate with the national oil company Petrobras and a number of commercial and technological agreements are in place, including a commitment to explore the development of sustainability guidelines for biofuel production. See the Brazil overview for more information about these activities.
The following are among the activities we carry out in support of our operations in Brazil:The first two are impact-mitigating activities in relation to our current and potential future operations, mainly focusing on the livelihoods of fishing communities in areas of project influence, although they also focus on education and the upgrading of skills among community residents in general:
On the Pilgrim's Trail: From the School up to the Platform ("Na Trilha do Peregrino: da Escola à Plataforma")
StatoilHydro is financing a project - "On the Pilgrim's Trail: From the School up to the Platform" ("Na Trilha do Peregrino: da Escola à Plataforma") - aimed at addressing the needs of local fishing communities potentially affected by our exploration and production activities in the area.
The Pilgrim's Trail project focuses in particular on providing educational opportunities and building capacity of relevance to the oil industry in order to ensure that our labour needs are met during the estimated 30-year lifetime of the Peregrino field.
The School of Waters Project ("Escola das Águas")
We are 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 provides training in business management and oyster and fish farming to local communities in the area of influence of the block.
