Jurong Shipyard breaks ground for new facility in Brazil

Sembcorp says that the construction and development of Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz, a wholly-owned, locally incorporated new Brazilian shipyard, is in line with its global hub strategy to further strengthen its foothold in Brazil. The country was chosen as a strategic growth hub due to its recent oil and gas discoveries in the offshore pre-salt fields, Petrobras’ investment plan for its exploration and production sector, the requirement to have Brazilian local content in its offshore platforms projects as well as its close proximity to the oil and gas fields of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and West African sectors.

Strategically placed close to the oil and gas Basin of Espirito Santo, one of Brazil’s pre-salt reservoirs, Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz is situated on an 82.5hectare site with 1.6km of coastline in the municipality of Aracruz in the state of Espirito Santo – Brazil’s second largest oil producer.

Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz has successfully obtained the environmental license, a pre-requisite for the commencement of shipyard construction in Brazil. The facility will be developed over a period of three years and in stages with full completion scheduled for end 2014. Planned shipyard facilities include a 120m x 380m drydock, a 1km berthing quay as well as ancillary piping facilities and steel fabrication workshops. Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz will have capabilities to undertake construction of drillships, semi-submersible and jackup rigs, platforms, supply vessels, the integration of FPSOs and topside modules fabrication, in addition to the traditional activities of drilling rig repairs, ship repairs and modification/upgrade works.

The ground-breaking ceremony, held on 19 December 2011 in Brazil to mark the commencement of Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz’ construction works, was officiated by the Governor of Espirito Santo, HE Renato Casagrande. The occasion was witnessed by Sembcorp Marine’s chairman Goh Geok Ling as well as directors Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, Lim Ah Doo and Ron Foo.

Wong Weng Sun, president and CEO of Sembcorp Marine and managing director of Jurong Shipyard, who was also present at the ground-breaking ceremony, said: “We are here at the right place and right time. The ground-breaking for the development of Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz will provide a clear signal to the Brazilian oil and gas market that Sembcorp Marine is completely committed to continue its services to them, in their country. With our two decades of experience servicing the Brazilian oil and gas Industries, Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz will substantially strengthen our ability to meet our major clients’ needs especially in developing the recently discovered giant pre-salt oil and gas reservoirs. The Brazilian oil and gas market considers us a major player there.”

The preliminary projection of the development costs of the new yard is estimated to be around $550 million. It will be funded through a combination of debt and internal funds generated from operations of existing shipyards.