Petrolina is a municipality located in the southernmost point of the state of Pernambuco, in Northeast Brazil, in the valley of the São Francisco River.

The municipality is closely integrated with Juazeiro, Bahia, located on the opposite bank of the São Francisco.

[4] The growth of Petrolina and its twin city Juazeiro in the late 20th century is the result of the construction of the Sobradinho Dam and the abundant availability of water for irrigation in these otherwise semi-arid soils.

[citation needed] For many years the economy of the Valley of the São Francisco was based on extensive cattle ranching and subsistence farming.

Agriculture has grown by leaps and bounds with irrigated farming being the main source of income and jobs in Petrolina.

The Petrolina-Juazeiro nucleus has turned into a producer of a wide range of irrigated high-value crops, including table grapes and mangos that are sold fresh by cargo aircraft to Europe and the United States, and other crops for the domestic market, including bananas, coconuts, guavas, passion fruit, melons, industrial tomatoes, watermelons and onions, among others.

Petrolina is located in the semi-arid Sertão belt of the Northeastern Region of Brazil that has a distinctively erratic and seasonal rainfall.

[10] Petrolina and Juazeiro, in Bahia, are part of a metropolitan area called a "Region of Integrated Development" (Brazilian Portuguese: Região Administrativa Integrada de Desenvolvimento), with a population of 686,410 in 2010.

Health indicators are as follows:[19][7] Petrolina is on national highway BR-407, connecting Feira de Santana, near Salvador, and Picos located in the state of Piauí.

Juazeiro, across the São Francisco River, is served by the Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica rail line, which is used only for freight.