Resumo Além de fomentar o aumento do comércio entre países, a globalização tem mudado significativamente os processos econômicos ao possibilitar que as empresas dividam as cadeias de produção e comercialização em vários segmentos, que se espalham por todo o mundo. Nesse sentido, as redes de produção globais (RPGs), fragmentadas organizacionalmente e dispersas espacialmente, têm se constituído em uma nova estrutura que impulsiona cada vez mais a economia mundial. Partindo dos conceitos de densidade, distância e divisão, considerados pelo Relatório de Desenvolvimento Mundial do Banco Mundial de 2009 como fatores determinantes para se forjar o desenvolvimento regional, este artigo objetiva analisar a maneira pela qual o setor de petróleo e gás no Brasil tem se conectado às RPGs, as condições que beneficiam e dificultam essas conexões, e as implicações disso para o desenvolvimento regional.

Abstract In addition to fostering increased trade between countries, globalization has significantly changed economic processes by enabling companies to divide production and marketing chains into various segments, which have spread throughout the world. Therefore, organizationally fragmented and spatially dispersed global production networks (GPNs) have become a new structure that is increasingly driving the world economy. Based on the concepts of density, distance and division, which are deemed by the World Bank’s World Development Report 2009 as determining factors of forging regional development, this article aims to analyze the way in which Brazil’s oil and gas sector has connected to GPNs, the conditions that benefit as well as hinder these connections and the implications of this for regional development.

Abstract In a context of global production networks, cities are the loci of the knowledge generation process. They bring together various actors and assets necessary for this sophisticated activity. The generation of knowledge involves the interaction between actors within the same city, such as companies, universities, and research centers, and also between actors from different cities, forming a network. However, not all cities can participate in this network, and the literature has mostly focused on networks formed by cities in the Global North and in high-tech industries. This article aims to map and investigate the knowledge network in the offshore oil industry, showing whether cities in oil-rich countries in the Global South are part of this network. The analysis is carried out at the city level, highlighting the cities that appear as important places for generation of knowledge. To meet our goal, we created a patent database using patents granted by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) between 2007 and 2017, designed a network based on the inventors’ location, and performed the k-core analysis. We found that Rio de Janeiro is the only city in a Global South, resource-rich country that appears in the most central layers of the network. Rio de Janeiro’s insertion is based on two groups of actors that play different roles and are highly influenced by the local National Oil Company, Petrobras.

Resumo A economia global está organizada em cadeias de valor, fragmentadas espacial e funcionalmente. Apesar dessa dispersão, as atividades administrativas e de controle dessas cadeias continuam concentradas em algumas cidades, que detém um papel importante em certas cadeias, por concentrarem empresas e fluxos econômicos. A pesquisa nessa área não se concentrou no nível da cidade e adotou, mais comumente, estudos de caso como metodologia. Diante disso, este trabalho adotará a metodologia de rede para analisar o poder das cidades na rede de investimento em petróleo e gás da América do Sul, os atributos que explicam essa posição e a extensão espacial dela. Para realizar esta análise, serão usados dados sobre investimentos green e brownfield. Os resultados indicam que o Rio de Janeiro é a cidade mais central dessa rede, mas sua ação está concentrada principalmente no Brasil. Este trabalho pretende contribuir principalmente no desenvolvimento metodológico dos estudos na área.

Abstract The global economy is organized in value chains, spatially and functionally fragmented. Despite this dispersion, the administrative activities of these chains continue to be concentrated in some cities, which play an important role in certain chains, because they concentrate companies and economic flows. The research on value chains has not focused on the city level and has adopted mainly case studies as the methodological approach. Considering this, we apply a network methodology to analyse the powerful cities in the South American oil and gas investment network, including the attributes that explain this position and the spatial extent of it. To perform this analysis, we use data on green and brownfield investments. Our results indicate that Rio de Janeiro is the most central city in this network, but its action is mainly concentrated in Brazil. This work seeks to contribute mainly to the methodological development of the studies in the area.