Even before I joined Castrol, I used Castrol products as a consumer. I was attracted to Castrol for its leading position in the lubricant industry, its innovative products, superior technology and strong brand recall. After joining the company as an Account Manager in 2016, I was highly impressed with the people who work at Castrol and their clear, technology-led and high-performance approach. One of the key reasons I continue to work at Castrol is the company’s values, specifically on ethics, compliance, and safety.
It is an exciting time to work in the energy business in Brazil particularly oil & gas. I’m excited about growing Castrol’s market share in Brazil so that the region can enjoy the products and expertise that can add value today.
A real achievement was winning the product supply for a newly built FPSO with a first fill. This FPSO will be deployed in one of the most productive deepwater fields in the country and will have the capacity to produce up to hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day with a storage capacity of over a million barrels of oil and millions of cubic meters of natural gas. It showcases the best of Castrol's dedicated energy team by using our global presence and local and regional expertise to win new business from the yard to the final destination. In particular, due to its challenging deepwater location, it will require a reliable supply chain of products to ensure minimal disruption, which is a key strength of Castrol.
Brazil is the largest growth market in the world for oil and gas deployment. This means that the Brazilian market needs more oil and gas production platforms to meet the demand.
As this demand is skyrocketing, so is the customer's need for reliability in Brazil. Brazilian customers insist on reliability in supplying products that keep their assets healthy and avoid downtime. They rightly demand the right products with proven results and experience in operation.
However, in combination with performance, customers are looking for products that are environmentally acceptable. And even if they are aligned with the legislation requirements, they're looking for products to support them in decarbonising their assets that go beyond regulation.
Beyond the reliability of products, there is also a clear focus on a reliable supply chain without supply disruptions. Also, the supplier’s ability and capacity to manage the consumption volatilities of the operations is a vital value driver for our customers.
Castrol manages a subsea hydraulic fluid production unit in Brazil with a capacity level of hundreds of thousands of litres, dimensioned to meet the demand safely in Brazil and absorb the potential growing demand. Local production and storage capacity make Castrol competitive in the Brazilian market and enable us to have a quick response time in case of emergency situations in the country.
The oil & gas sector in Brazil is enjoying growing significantly. But, it needs to make the most of this growth. In order to benefit from the conditions, the sector in Brazil must choose the right partners. They should have expert technical services, a product portfolio, and regional knowledge - something we have in abundance. This integrated service is critical to ensure reliable and efficient production operations today and moving forward.
We often see this desire for the right partner in the region, with customers leaning on Castrol as the experts. They look to us to provide the right data and insights. Customers expect Castrol to have the knowledge and be quickly available to provide technical clarifications, guidance and advice.
Meanwhile, Brazilian customers are always looking to be one step ahead, for example, when it comes to digital solutions, especially in procurement. They are pushing their suppliers to adapt to order management systems where they can place orders and manage the whole value chain to avoid paperwork and unnecessary manual transactions.
Finally, we are tailoring our approach to customers in Brazil who are looking to improve operational efficiency; this is a trend we are seeing among all operators who are keen to improve operational efficiency for fields focusing on reliability. At the same time, they want a product to keep the operations running smoothly and as much as possible, without any stopping or need for downtime.
There is a growing trend among O&G operators and OEMs in sustainability; the companies are mostly declaring net zero ambitions and defining tighter KPIs on the topic, which applies to the entire supply chain, not just products.
And the pressure is on the stakeholders to step up. It is not just compliance but going above and beyond. Castrol has a team dedicated to explore environmental regulations to identify the actions to meet developing environmental regulations, not just today, but to plan for future regulations that might be tighter, giving customers that assurance and peace of mind. Our subsea product ranges, Castrol Transaqua and Castrol Brayco Micronic ranges have been verified as achieving carbon neutral status in accordance with BSI’s PAS2060* since 2021.