OSX raises USD 227.9 million for Açu Shipbuilding Unit

Wednesday, Jan 11, 2012

OSX, an EBX Group company focused in providing equipment and services for the offshore oil and gas industry, by means of integrated operations in shipbuilding, leasing of exploration and production (E&P) units, and operation and maintenance (O&M) services, received a USD 227.9 million disbursement under a bridge loan entered into with the Brazilian Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES - Banco Nacional do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social), for the funding of the construction of the Açu Shipbuilding Unit (UCN Açu), which began in July 2011, at the Açu Industrial Complex in the City of São João da Barra, in the Northern region of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

The general conditions of this loan are: interest rate of approximately 5.4% p.a., with an 18-month maturity period, principal and interest to be paid at the end of the maturity period or upon first disbursement of the long-term loan from the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM - Fundo da Marinha Mercante), for which the Açu Shipbuilding Unit was granted funding priority in June 2011, with a total term of approximately 20 years and interest rate in Dollars + 2% to 4% p.a.

The long-term funding contract with the FMM is currently being negotiated with the transfer agents BNDES and Caixa Econômica Federal. The total credit approval in the amount of R$2.7 billion has already been obtained and the guarantee conditions have been defined.

“The construction of the Açu Shipbuilding Unit is underway, in order to begin steel cutting for OSX’s fleet of oil and gas production platforms in the first quarter of 2013. This USD 227.9 million disbursement advances part of the R$ 2.7 billion FMM long-term funding, dedicated to the implementation of the Açu Shipbuilding Unit, which we are developing in partnership with our fellow shareholder and technology partner Hyundai Heavy Industries, the global leader in naval construction.” stated OSX’s CEO, Luiz Eduardo Carneiro.

ARCADIS AWARDED US$17 MILLION CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT CONTRACT IN BRAZIL

Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:00am EST
Amsterdam, January 11, 2012 - ARCADIS (EURONEXT: ARCAD), the international consultancy, design, engineering and management services company, today announced that its Brazilian subsidiary ARCADIS Logos has signed a large contract to provide construction management services for a major mining project in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The client is Mineração Usiminas S.A., a company set up in 2010 as part of Usiminas S.A. group, Latin America's biggest flat steel conglomerate. The contract value amounts to US$17 million for 14 months of services.

Mineração Usiminas is responsible for the mining, railway transportation and port operations of the Usiminas group and has four mines in the so-called Iron Square of Minas Gerais. ARCADIS Logos will support Mineração Usiminas with construction management services for the implementation of the Friáveis Project, which includes the construction of two greenfield Ore Processing Plants. The Friáveis Project is part of an ambitious R$4 billion investment program involving the construction of industrial facilities, dams and loading terminals. With a planned production capacity of 3 and 4 million tons per year, the plants of the Friáveis Project are expected to start operations at the end of 2012. At the peak of the construction phase, ARCADIS Logos will have over 110 people at the jobsite.

"Our relationship with Usiminas started back in 2008, when ARCADIS Logos was chosen to provide consultancy services for the development of this impressive mining and industrial site. From this date on the partnership has grown up to the point where we are now signing our biggest contract with the company so far. It shows that mining continues to be a strong driver for our business in Brazil", said Manoel Antonio da Silva, CEO of ARCADIS Logos.

Wartsila designs Technip Odebrecht vessels

Finland’s Wartsila Corporation will design two flexible pipe laying vessels being built in a joint venture between Technip and Odebrecht Oleo & Gas for use offshore Brazil.
Andrew Hobbs 22 December 2011 09:06 GMT
The consortium won a contract from Brazil’s Petrobras for two identical 550-tonne flexible pipelaying support vessels worth about $1 billion – with the company also awarding contracts to SapuraCrest and Subsea 7, as Upstream reported in November.

In an announcement, Wartsila said the VS 4146 PLV design to be used for the vessels would cater for optimal fuel consumption in the design conditions.

“They will be utilised mainly to install umbilical and flexible flow lines and risers to connect sub-sea wells to floating production units in waters more than 2500 metres deep,” Wartsila said.

The vessels will be built at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering shipyard in South Korea.

Saipem in pole position for pipeline contract

Italian player offers lowest bid of $550 million to Petrobras for gas export installation in Santos basin

Italian subsea manufacturer Saipem is in pole position to secure another major contract off Brazil, after presenting the lowest bid in a tender covering a key pipeline installation campaign for Petrobras in the Santos basin.
Fabio Palmigiani Rio de Janeiro 23 December 2011 02:39 GMT
According to a source, Saipem has submitted an offer worth approximately 1 billion reais ($550 million) for the gas export pipeline venture.

This will link five floating production, storage and offloading vessels to be installed in ultra-deep waters in the pre-salt province to a new onshore facility in Cabiunas.

The proposed Cernambi-Cabiunas project calls for the supply and installation of a giant 373-kilometre, 24-inch pipeline in water depths ranging from 100 metres to 1800 metres.

Bids were opened last week. It is understood that Saipem is already in negotiations with Petrobras in an attempt to sign the definitive agreement at the beginning of 2012, said one source. The Technip-Allseas consortium also participated, but finished a distant second place with a proposal of about 1.7 billion reais.

Other groups such as Global Industries, Heerema and Subsea 7 were invited but declined.

The pipeline will be able to transport 13 million cubic metres per day of natural gas and is expected to be operational by mid-2014.

At full capacity, the pipeline will offload gas from FPSOs that are due to be moored in five accumulations in the Santos basin pre-salt zone - Guara North, Cernambi South, Lula Alto, Lula Central and Franco-1..

The latter is part of the oil-for-shares agreement signed between Petrobras and the Brazilian government last year. Petrobr as is also building a new plant in Cabiunas, in north-east Rio de Janeiro state, to expand its terminal processing capacity from 20 MMcmd to 33 MMcmd. Separately, Petrobras has awarded Saipem an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract for a 19-kilometre, 18-inch pipeline that will connect Cernambi South to a central manifold in the Lula field.

The work will be carried out in 2200 metres of water by the vessel Saipem FDS 2 in the second half of 2013, and will be the third such job to be executed by the unit after installing the export flowlines from the Guara and Lula North-East floaters. This contract covers the ultra-deep-water section of the pipeline, meaning that Saipem will likely be responsible for the whole pipelaying campaign of the huge 392-kilometre Cernambi-Cabiunas route.

Petrobras will share part of the financial costs of the pipeline with the UK's BG Group, Portugal's Galp Energia and Spain's Repsol YPF, its main partners in the Santos basin pre-salt area.

The Cernambi-Cabiunas pipeline will be bigger than the Lula-Mexilhao project, which cost around $800 million and has capacity for 10 MMcmd, easily becoming the largest offshore natural gas pipeline in the country. The 216-kilometre, 18-inch Lula-Mexilhao pipeline, laid by Technip-Allseas back in 2009, started shifting gas from the Lula field three months ago.

Keppel secures US$809 million contract from Sete Brasil for new DSS™ 38E semi

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), through its subsidiary Fernvale Pte. Ltd., has secured a contract worth approximately US$809 million from Urca Drilling B.V., a subsidiary of Sete Brasil Participações S.A. (Sete Brasil), for the design and construction of a semisubmersible (semi) drilling rig based on Keppel's proprietary DSSTM 38E design.

The DSSTM 38E is an enhancement of Keppel's proven fifth generation deepwater solution, the DSSTM 38. With improved capability and operability, it is designed to meet the stringent requirements of the deepwater "Golden Triangle" region, comprising Brazil, Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.

Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2015, the rig is intended to support the exploration of Brazil's estimated 50 billion barrels of deep-sea oil and gas reserves1. Brazil is currently the world's 11th largest oil producer and is expected to be in the top five by 2020. Its national oil company, Petrobras, has plans for $224 billion in capital expenditure from 2011 to 20152.

According to Sete Brasil's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Joao Carlos Ferraz,"Keppel designed rigs have an established track record of operating efficiently in their respective fields and we are confident that the DSSTM 38E rig will be well suited for offshore Brazil. As we grow our fleet of drilling rigs to meet the demands of our customers, partnering reliable shipyards which can deliver quality rigs on time and within budget is an imperative for us." Sete Brasil specialises in chartering drilling rigs for Brazil's pre-salt exploration.

An innovative and cost-effective design, the DSSTM 38E is rated to drill to depths of 10,000 metres below the rotary table in 3,000 metres water depth. It is 108 metres in overall length, with a main deck size of 73 metres by 73 metres. Its operational displacement is approximately 45,000 tonnes.

The DSSTM 38E has accommodation facilities to house a crew of up to 160 men. It has both vertical and horizontal riser storage. The vessel is designed to stay in position via eight Azimuthing thrusters and the configurations comply with the American Bureau of Shipping Dynamic Positioned System (DPS-3) requirements.

Mr Chow Yew Yuen, Keppel O&M's Managing Director and President of the Americas said, "We are proud that our proprietary DSSTM 38E design has been chosen by Sete Brasil as their first semi. It is an enhancement of the design from our first two drilling rigs built for Brazil, Gold Star and Alpha Star. The two rigs are now successfully operating in offshore Brazil and we are confident the DSSTM38E will follow in their footsteps.

"We are pleased to be able to partner Sete Brasil in developing drilling solutions for Brazil's deepwater oil fields. Having delivered several key projects such as the P-52, P-51 and P-56 that have increased Brazil's production capabilities, we look forward to developing rigs that will further boost Brazil's offshore drilling resources.

"Having a proven shipyard in Brazil also ensures that we are able to satisfy any local content requirements. With a suite of proprietary deepwater drilling rig designs and more than 30 years of experience participating in Brazil's oil and gas industry, we aim to provide cost-effective and value-added propositions for Brazil's offshore and marine industry."

Jointly developed and owned by Keppel's Deepwater Technology Group and Marine Structure Consultants, the DSSTM 38E design is in the league of some of the world's most advanced drilling semisubmersibles. The two DSSTM38 semis, Gold Star and Alpha Star, previously delivered by Keppel FELS to Brazil's Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás (QGOG), are operating efficiently without disruption in offshore Brazil for Petrobras.

Keppel operates one of the most comprehensive shipyards, BrasFELS, in Brazil. The yard's current projects include the repair and upgrade of Noble's two Brazil-based drillships as well as the construction of the first Tension Leg Wellhead Platform (TLWP), P-61 for the Papa-Terra field in Brazil's Campos Basin for Petrobras and Chevron.

The aforementioned contract price refers to Keppel O&M's proposal submitted to Sete Brasil in July 2011. The contract mentioned above is not expected to have a material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the current financial year.

ANP approves concession rights and obligations transfer from Petra to HRT O&G

HRT Participações em Petróleo S.A. (the “Company” or “HRT”) (BM&FBOVESPA: HRTP3, TSX-V: HRP) announces that, the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis - ANP) (”ANP”) approved, on December 9, 2011, the transfer of the concession rights and obligations from Petra Energia S.A. (”Petra”) regarding the totality of a 45% participating interest to HRT O&G Exploração e Produção de Petróleo Ltda. (”HRT O&G”) related to 21 blocks located in the Solimões Sedimentary Basin.
For further information, contact HRT`s Investor Relations Department.
About HRT
HRT Participações holds one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in Brazil. The HRT Group comprises eight main subsidiaries: IPEX (Integrated Petroleum Expertise Company Serviços em Petróleo Ltda.), HRT O&G Exploração e Produção de Petróleo Ltda., HRT Netherlands B.V., HRT África Petróleo S.A., HRT América Inc., Air Amazonia Serviços Aéreos Ltda. and HRT Canada Inc.. The Company retains a 55% interest in 21 exploratory blocks in the Solimões Basin. HRT also operates ten exploratory blocks off the Namibian coast: eight blocks in the Orange Sub-basin and two blocks in the Walvis Sub-basin. HRT’s team includes PHDs and masters in geochemistry, geophysics,
biology and engineering, most of them former employees of Petrobras and ANP (Brazil petroleum agency). HRT is committed to minimizing any possible environmental impacts in the sites where it acts. Our commitment to the local communities is towards health conditions, security and quality of life. For more information, please visit the Company’s website: www.hrt.com.br/ir.

Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem will next year focus investments on Brazil, according to CEO

The firm plans spend around US$5bn on new productive capacities in the country, Fadigas told local paper Valor Econômico.

Projects include a naphtha-based polypropylene (PP) plant at Camaçari; a second ethanol-based polyethylene (PE) plant, the company's first green PP unit; and continued work on the Comperj petrochemical complex in Rio de Janeiro.

"Our strategy will not be different than in the current year, but our priority will be Brazil," Fadigas said.

However, the executive added that the company is still eyeing opportunities in the US. The acquisition of PP assets in the US in 2010 and 2011, "has consolidated our leadership in PP, so we can now look at business in the PE area."

In Brazil, Braskem expects to invest a total of around US$4bn in petrochemical plants at Comperj, the report said.

The firm is also still considering the size of the stake it may acquire in the PetroquimicaSuape polyester and PET resin project currently being built in the northeast of the country by federal energy company Petrobras

Seadrill in discussions regarding a potential investment with SapuraCrest in Brazil

Seadrill Limited, or Seadrill, is contemplating expanding its product range with an ambition to offer a wider range of oilfield services in Brazil. It is the intention that such expansion could include a joint investment with SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd, or SapuraCrest, which recently, through a wholly owned subsidiary, entered into agreements with Petrobras for five-year charters of three pipe laying support vessels (PLSVs) to be built for operations in Brazil. Two of the PLSVs are to be built outside Brazil, while one PLSV will be built in Brazil in compliance with applicable local content requirements. Commencement of operations for the PLSVs is planned to start by October 2014. Seadrill, through its subsidiaries, would have a 50 percent equity participation in entities which will enter into charter and services agreements with Petrobras with respect to the PLSVs. The joint investment is dependent, among other factors, on approval by SapuraCrest shareholders. Seadrill holds a 23.6 percent equity interest in SapuraCrest.
Source: Seadrill

Cordiant invests in $864 million project to construct a deepwater drillship for leading Brazilian conglomerate

Cordiant Capital Inc. (“Cordiant”), the leading emerging markets private debt fund manager, is investing USD15 million in a USD864 million project for the construction of a deepwater drillship for a leading Brazilian conglomerate. The drillship will help Brazil further expand its fast growing oil & gas sector.With oil production growing at an average rate of 6.9% per annum since 2005, Brazil is the third largest oil producer in Latin America and the 13th largest in the world. Recent discoveries - all of which are located offshore - have opened the possibility for Brazil to become an even more important oil producer and exporter.
Cordiant is providing the 10-year loan to the Schahin Group, a leading conglomerate with over 40 years’ track record in some of Brazil’s most important industrial sectors, including oil & gas, engineering, real estate development, telecommunications and energy.
The project will generate 250 new jobs in Brazil. The company currently employs a total of approximately 4,500 people.
Schahin is one of the top three local offshore drilling operators. It is one of the few Brazilian companies that have the technical expertise to operate drillships using “dynamic positioning” – an advanced computer technology that enables a vessel to control its position automatically. The system is essential for deep sea operations where mooring or anchoring is not feasible.
The state-of-the art drillship is capable of operating in water depths of up to 3,000m, with drilling depths of up to 12,000m below the seabed, reaching a maximum depth of 15,000m.
The vessel is being built at Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in Korea. Once completed, it will be chartered to Petrobras S.A. under a 10-year charter and service contract for deployment in Brazilian offshore waters. Petrobras is the third largest energy company in the world. Schahin has worked extensively with Petrobras in operating at deepwater depths over the past 13-years.
David Creighton, President and CEO of Cordiant, comments: “Long term global demand for oil continues to rise and Brazil is an important source of untapped offshore reserves. There is a great potential for the country to become a global oil power, but this requires considerable infrastructure investments.”
“There is a substantial lack of finance for long term infrastructure projects in emerging markets and funding has become even scarcer as banks pull out of the market as a result of the Eurozone crisis.”
“Many financially sound projects are waiting to see the light of day and the partial withdrawal of global banks from this kind of lending means that there is a growing pool of attractive opportunities for private loan providers like us.”
The transaction adheres rigorously to the Equator Principles with regards to environmental protection, industrial safety, and occupational health standards. The Equator Principles were developed in accordance with the International Finance Corporation and World Bank performance standards.
As part of the licensing process, an environmental impact assessment was undertaken for the drillship, addressing issues, such as waste and effluent management procedures, emergency responses (e.g. in the event of spills) and training requirements. IBAMA, the Brazilian environmental agency, will also inspect the rig prior to issuing the license to ensure that all operational control systems adequately satisfy its environmental standards.
Petrobras has a certified ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 Environment, Health and Safety & Security Management System (EHS&S -MS) and Schahin, as its contractor, is regularly audited to ensure its EHS&S procedures comply with Petrobras’ requirements.
Cordiant is funding the transaction from its Cordiant Emerging Loan Fund III (CELF III).
Source: Cordiant Capital