About the Journal
Aims and scope
The Boletim de Geociências da Petrobras (BGP) is a scientific journal dedicated to publishing original research in various fields of petroleum geosciences.
Its scope covers the analysis and evaluation of sedimentary basins, geological modeling, geophysical interpretation, organic and inorganic geochemistry, sedimentology and stratigraphy, structural geology and geodynamics, petrophysics, reserve and resource estimation, data management, and geoscience technologies. Additionally, the BGP explores topics related to other energy sources and the geological storage.
Publications may be submitted in Portuguese or English.
This is an open-access journal whose mission is to provide the academic community and industry—particularly the oil sector—with a qualified forum for the exchange of ideas, debate, and advances in the geosciences.
History
Founded in 1987, the journal was established as a platform for disseminating information related to petroleum geosciences in Brazil, as well as technological advancements in the sector. Its primary objective was to foster integration between universities and Petrobras, thereby contributing to the development of geosciences in the country. In this context, the Boletim de Geociências da Petrobras emerged as a technical publication aimed at facilitating the exchange of knowledge produced within the company and communicating its achievements, targeting both the industrial sector and the academic community.
The Boletim de Geociências da Petrobras was published semiannually, in May and November. Its print version was distributed to institutions in 48 countries. Between 2017 and 2021, the online version recorded nearly 1 million accesses. The journal has previously been indexed in major bibliographic databases, such as the American Petroleum Institute (API), Petroleum Abstracts (Tulsa), Compendex, Chemical Abstracts, GeoRef, Scopus (Elsevier), and Energy Science. We aim to resume and expand the journal’s indexation.
Thematic special issues may be proposed by our editorial board and/or other interested members of the scientific community, providing opportunities to diversify submissions and promote discussions on specific knowledge gaps.
Periodicity
Boletim de Geociências da Petrobras was published quarterly between 1987 and 1990, with an average of 12 articles per issue, and subsequently adopted a semiannual publication schedule until 2014. The journal was suspended from 2015 to 2024 and resumed its activities in 2025. As of 2026, the journal adopts a continuous publication model, organized into a single annual volume, covering the period from January to December of each year. Under this model, accepted articles are published individually as soon as the evaluation and revision stages are completed, without the need to wait for the compilation of a complete issue. This approach ensures greater agility in content dissemination and enhances the timely circulation of scientific knowledge.
Article types
The Boletim de Geociências da Petrobras publishes Research Papers, Short Notes and Review papers. All submissions undergo a peer-review process.
Original articles: present the outcomes of research conducted with a clear and well-justified purpose, including explicitly stated research questions or hypotheses that are appropriately addressed throughout the text. The scientific methods employed and the analyses performed must be robust and competent, ensuring rigor in the study. It is essential that the presentation of data be distinct from its interpretation, thus guaranteeing objectivity and clarity in the delivery of information. Furthermore, the article should provide sufficient data to support its conclusions, with arguments, data tables, and figures presented in a clear and accessible manner for readers. The article is also expected to adequately explain the broad and general significance of the work, demonstrating its relevance to the field of geoscience. It is imperative that the material has not been previously published, ensuring the originality and exclusivity of the contribution.
Short Notes: These contributions address preliminary results, field guides, and topics of specialized interest, including instrumental techniques. They may present negative results and unusual findings. The formatting is like that of original articles; however, manuscripts must not exceed ten pages, including references and figures.
Review articles: These are works prepared by specialists with the goal of addressing technical and scientific advances in a specific field, critically analyzing the state of the art, presenting well-founded opinions, and indicating future perspectives and directions for the topic at hand. Such articles are based on the knowledge and experience of the author(s), without the requirement to rely on original research. The manuscript must cite all relevant international publications, contextualize the historical development of the topic, highlight its current relevance, and clearly state the motivations that guided the article’s preparation, detailing the adopted approach. It is essential to identify knowledge gaps, limitations, and opportunities for further research advancement.
Peer review
The BGP follows to a single-anonymized review process, where reviewers are aware of the author's identity, but the author does not know who the reviewers are. All submission will first be evaluated by our editors to determine if it is suitable for publication in this journal. If deemed appropriate, it will typically be sent to at least two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of its scientific quality. The final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of your article rests with our editors. Authors wishing to contest the editorial decision on their manuscript can submit a formal appeal request to editorial team: cc-boletimgeociencias-bgp@petrobras.com.br
Our editors do not participate in decisions about papers that:
• They have authored themselves.
• Are authored by family members or colleagues.
• Concern products or services in which they have a vested interest.
Such submissions will undergo the usual procedures, with peer review managed independently of the involved editor and their research group. Reviewers are chosen by editors based on their expertise in the manuscript's topics and methods, as well as their proven track record in evaluating previous manuscripts. They are instructed to follow the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidance for reviewers (COPE Ethical guidelines for peer reviewers — English. https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.9),
The average time to reach a first decision on the manuscript, taking into account its compliance with the journal’s scope, submission guidelines, and plagiarism screening, is approximately one week. The estimated duration for the peer review process and the editor’s decision is five weeks.
Evaluation Guidelines
BGP provides below its guidelines and the form used in the evaluation process, available for download.
Publishing Criteria
Successful research articles should demonstrate the qualities listed below. This list guides editorial decisions and helps authors identify weaknesses. Authors can use it as a checklist to prepare their paper for submission.
Criteria to evaluete the technical quality of the work and how it is presented:
- The paper has a clear and well-justified purpose.
- Research questions or hypotheses are clearly stated and addressed.
- The scientific methods and analysis are robust and competent.
- Data presentation is distinct from interpretation.
- There is sufficient data to support the conclusions.
- Arguments, data tables, and figures are clear and accessible.
Criteria to evaluate the impact, novelty, and intellectual value of the paper:
- The broad, generic importance of the work is adequately explained.
- The work contains novel elements with innovative aims, hypotheses or methods.
- The paper represents an important advance in the field with outcomes that are significant and that add to our scientific understanding of geosciences.
- The material has not been published previously.
Special issues
The peer review process for special issues follows the same procedure as regular submissions. However, a guest editor will send the submissions to the reviewers and recommend a decision to the journal's Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief supervises the peer review process for all special issues to guarantee high standards of publishing ethics and responsiveness are maintained and is responsible for the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of articles.
Open access
The BGP offers unrestricted and immediate access to all its content. There are no fees or financial contributions required from authors, users, or institutions. Authors are invited to submit articles, and if accepted, they are published at no cost. All users and institutions have the ability to access, read, download, copy, distribute, print, or search the full text of the published articles.
Publishing timeline
Currently, based on the deadlines initially established by the editorial team, the period between submission and first online publication is expected to be approximately 22 weeks. As new issues are published, additional details regarding the average duration of each stage in the editorial process will be provided.
Financing Institution
Petrobras – Petróleo Brasileiro SA
