ABSTRACT
This chapter explores three time periods, three distinct regions, and three petroleumscape transformations in Brazil. Drielli Peyerl first considers Petrobras’s activities in the Recôncavo basin, where oil was discovered for the first time, in 1939. Then, she addresses the petroleumscape’s extension to the hinterland of the Amazon basin beginning in 1950. Finally, Peyerl considers the drivers of offshore exploration leading up to the pre-salt discovery of 2006. Each of these processes changed regional landscapes and the country through population growth, housing construction, development of basic services, the construction of refineries and universities, and migration from rural to urban areas. As a political and national project, the Brazilian petroleumscape becomes a singular case study of how flows of petroleum and the finances related to it can shape a landscape and a society.
