The world is going through difficult and turbulent times. A high price is being paid as the result of the retraction in world growth and with the mounting political uncertainty and volatility of the international financial markets.
Previously, we had the much talked about "irrational exuberance of the markets" which punished us because it was better to speculate with shares of virtual companies than to invest in production and in the development of the real economy.
Now we have the "exuberant irrationality of the markets" that bets against growth and speculates against the currencies independently of macro-economic indicators or of the degree of democratic development of the countries.
Yet, it is not my intention, in the opening ceremony of an extraordinary event such as the WPC to convey an image of pessimism. If only because the oil and gas business in Brazil is currently undergoing a phase of growth and prosperity.
Brazil affirms its position as one of the most promising oil provinces in this decade in the world.
There are new and promising exploration areas, important oil discoveries, new companies establishing themselves in our market, and new investments already publicised.
We have set a definite course, and made long term planning decisions within the rules of the market economy and of the current regulatory model, which will remain in effect independently of who wins the elections of next October.
It is important to stress that the regulatory model is here to stay, and precisely because it has the support of the National Congress, the model has the institutional strength to go on balancing the much sought after stability with the constantly needed improvement.
This model, which is based on free competition and on transparency, resulted from a gradual change of perception on the part of both government and society in Brazil during the 1990s as to the best way to develop our oil industry, a shift that is in line with international trends.
In the beginning of 1998, as everyone knows, Petrobras was the only company operating in the country's E&P segment. Today, there are 38 foreign and domestic companies, including the so called majors.
Brazil's sedimentary basins have been the setting for important advances on the part of the companies that bet on the opening of the market and on the potential of the blocks that were auctioned. I often say that "the revolution has just begun." Many stand to gain, while few stand to lose.
The trend in this decade for oil demand in Brazil is one of continued expansion and above average growth of GNP. This is an expansion rate that is greater than the world average. From 1990 to BLOCK 1 - - PLENARIES 9 THE "VIRTUOUS CIRCLE" OF OIL IN BRAZIL 1999, for example, the oil market in Brazil grew an average of 4.9% per year, against 1.2% in the rest of the world. The International Energy Agency predicts that, up to 2020,