RIO DE JANEIRO, September 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The 15th Rio Oil Gas expo and conference, held at the RioCentro in Rio de Janeiro, opened with record participation and attendance. At the opening ceremony, the president of the Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (Instituto Brasileiro de Petroleo, Gas e Biocombustiveis - IBP), Joao Carlos de Luca, said 20,000 registrations for the expo had been received as of Saturday and that 40,000 visitors are expected through Thursday, the final day of the event.

Foreign participation has also set records. According to De Luca, among those registered for the expo and conference are representatives from 51 countries, double that of the last Rio Oil Gas event in 2008. The number of exhibitors alone includes 1,300 foreigners from 23 countries.

The president of IBP underscored how much the event has grown, taking on a significant international dimension. In 2008, we discussed self-sufficiency here (in oil). Today we're talking about subsalt finds and the future, with the potential of making us major oil and derivative exporters, said De Luca, also recalling the importance of the technical program.

More than 1,000 entries are registered for the technical conference, of which 800 have been selected and will be presented over the course of the four days. The number of technical panels has also doubled since the 2008 Rio Oil Gas show. This year there will be 22 panels.

The president of IBP also emphasized the success of the Business Roundup under the direction of the National Oil Industry Organization (Organizacao Nacional da Industria do Petroleo). More than 200 small and mid-size suppliers and 26 anchor enterprises (large contractors) are registered, he said.

Paulo Roberto Costa, director of Supply and acting president of Petrobras, spoke during the opening ceremony of the event's expansion and Brazil's importance in the global oil and gas industry. Costa proposed that after Houston, the next Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) be held in the city of Rio and be organized by IBP. Rio is the oil capital, he said.

Also attending the opening ceremony were Governor Sergio Cabral; Marco Antonio Almeida, Ministry of Mines and Energy secretary of Oil, Natural Gas and Renewable Fuels; Julio Bueno, state secretary of Economic Development; Holland's vice minister of the Economy, Oderick Van Schrevew; and Haroldo Lima, director general of the National Oil, Gas and Biofuel Agency; among other officials.

CONTACT: Milena Cosmo +55-21-9146-3629 Tatiana Campos +55-21-9384-1956

SOURCE: Instituto Brasileiro de Petroleo, Gas e Biocombustiveis

CONTACT: Milena Cosmo, +55-21-9146-3629, Tatiana Campos, +55-21-9384-1956