Team size: Eight

Bio

Holds a Law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the Instituto de Empresa (IE) in Madrid. She has over 13 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry.

Carolina joined Ocyan in 2012 as a Junior Lawyer providing legal support to the Offshore Maintenance and Services (“MSO”) and Subsea Construction departments. Over time, she also began supporting the Offshore Production area. Prior to joining the company, she worked as an associate in law firms specialising in civil litigation.

Since May 2012, she has worked in Ocyan’s legal department, supporting the business development, financing arrangements, new partnerships, and operations. Between 2015-2017, she pursued her LL.M in Madrid and worked as a Foreign Associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York.

In 2017, she returned to Ocyan as the head for legal support to the Offshore Production department and participated in all the company’s bids in this segment, support to the ongoing contracts and participation as secretary in the joint venture meetings. Carolina also contributed to the implementation of the New Energies and Services department since its inception. In 2023, she was appointed Legal Manager, responsible for all of the company’s business areas. Since April 2024, she has been Ocyan’s General Counsel.

Throught her career at Ocyan, she participated in most of the new projects and operations of a great portion of the company’s assets. Some highlights are the assignment of the FPSO Cidade de Itajaí charter and services contracts from Petrobras to Karoon combined with a refinancing of the asset, the negotiation of operations and maintenance agreement of the Papa-Terra assets with 3R Petroleum and Ocyan’s change of control, with the implementation of a new governance with the new shareholders.

She served as Coordinator of the Legal Committee of ABESPetro – the Brazilian Association of Oil and Gas Equipment and Service Companies – from 2021 to 2024. During such period, Carolina was part of all the industry’s significant discussions with ABESPetro’s members and stakeholders.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

I believe that regardless of a crisis period, the legal strategy must support the business with the risk management. The legal department cannot be isolated and needs to understand clearly what the company’s goals are. With that approach, is possible to identify and manage risks. Furthermore, lawyers might find the best legal approach, but that won’t necessarily fit the commercial targets. Therefore, it is important to work together, in a proactive and timely manner to find a middle ground between legal and commercial, ensuring that the company doesn’t assume unnecessary risks. The legal department must be an ally and has a key role to contribute to the business decision-making process, safeguarding company’s security.

Nevertheless, in a period of crises or instability, it is important to ensure a proper and clear communication, with all parties involved aligned. In addition, these challenging times require faster decisions, so the legal department must be agile and informed to support the business.

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?

Through her career at Ocyan, she participated in most of the new projects and operations of a great portion of the company’s assets. Some highlights are: (i) the assignment of the FPSO Cidade de Itajaí charter and services contracts from Petrobras to Karoon combined with a refinancing of the asset with Morgan Stanley, (ii) the negotiation of operations and maintenance agreement of the Papa-Terra assets with 3R Petroleum and (iii) Ocyan’s change of control from Grupo Novonor to FIP Serrambi, a Private Investment Fund, co-managed by EIG Partners, a leading global American fund in the energy and infrastructure sectors, and Lake Capital Investimentos, the asset management division of Lakeshore Partners. The last transaction was a complex M&A, involving BNDES in addition to the parties listed above, that resulted in the implementation of a new governance and new board of directors in Ocyan.

AND 1-2 of the questions from the list below. You may choose which questions to answer, but please aim to return around 500 words in total.

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?

It is not emerging anymore, it is here. It is impossible to overlook how Artificial Intelligence is changing our lives and our way to work. Ocyan has implemented some AI tools in operations, and we are aiming to implement one in the corporate level. A solution designed to reduce the workload of the teams and facilitate access to company’s internal information (e.g. policies, internal documents, bylaws, Powers of Attorney, etc.).

My team is formed by people from 21-51 years old, which gives a lot of interesting debate around the developments, we learn a lot from the younger ones. The company also gave a workshop of AI and encourages the employees to launch challenges to the innovation department to find and develop new software/programs/tools to improve Ocyan’s productivity and performance. Last year, the legal department sponsored, together with the Supply Chain team, a tool that uses AI to speed up the issuance of contracts with suppliers. It’s been a huge success.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

As a woman, under 40, in a position of leadership, with a seat in the executive management, I feel obliged to be an example to all the other women in the company that if I was able to make it to the top, there are also capable too. Furthermore, I’m current on maternity leave, so I want to show them that it is possible to be a working mom, even in top positions. My team is formed only by women, I sponsored the LGBTQ committee, I try to participate as much as possible in all Ocyan’s diversity initiatives.

I’m also part of a women’s group formed by lawyers in the oil & gas sector, called “Advogadas Energéticas”, we are 34 women (both in-house or law firms associates/partners) that meet monthly to discuss the latest legal news in our industry and the challenges of being women in the corporate world. Now, we have plans to start mentoring work with younger women.