TERRITORY, NETWORKS AND GLOBALIZATION: THE CASE OF OIL COMPANIES IN MACAÉ

Abstract

The paper investigates the spatial dynamics of the large offshore corporations in Macaé, in the north of Rio de Janeiro State, showing how the oil industry has transformed the municipality into one of Brazil's main economic hubs, especially after the installation of Petrobras and the opening up to multinational companies such as Halliburton and Baker Hughes. The intense attraction of investments and companies led to accelerated population growth, rapid urbanization and reorganization of the urban space, resulting in profound socio-economic and environmental changes. Based on authors such as Castells, Santos and Corrêa, the study discusses the role of geographical networks and global business logic in the production of “luminous spaces”, highly integrated and technological, and “opaque spaces”, marked by inequalities and precariousness. Methodologically, it uses the mapping of offshore companies and the analysis of the oil production chain to show how the internationalization of capital and the networked structure of corporations reconfigure Macaé's economy, territory and local challenges, accentuating both opportunities and contradictions typical of large contemporary oil complexes.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2025.026-021