Agência Brasil
Rio de Janeiro – Brazilian oil company Petrobras and its Norwegian counterpart, Statoil, who already operate together in petroleum production in Brazil, are extending their partnership to the social sphere. The companies plan to invest a joint total of US$ 359,000 this year in the creation of so-called Water Schools (Escolas das Águas) in the cities of Igrapiúna and Camamu, in the state of Bahia. Both are municipalities with low Human Development Indices (HDI).
According to a statement issued by Petrobras, the purpose of the agreement is to train local families in techniques for processing oysters and fish bred in captivity. The project will indirectly benefit 700 people in the two communities and should serve to strengthen regional fishing communities.
To the Social Responsibility manager at Petrobras, Luis Fernando Nery, the Water Schools project has a special symbolic significance, insofar as it is the first project to expand the alliance between the economic partners into the social sphere. "The project inaugurates a model that can show the way to ample social investment opportunities."
