Rolls-Royce secures £100m drill vessel order

The ships will be built at the Atlântico Sul shipyard for Brazilian oil company Petrobras. Under the contract, Rolls-Royce will equip each of the seven vessels with six large thrusters and six Bergen diesel generator sets, which comply with local content requirements. The power systems will propel the vessels to and from drill sites, while maintaining an accurate position for the ships during drilling operations.

Otoniel Silva Reis, CEO, Atlântico Sul, said: “We look forward to working with Rolls-Royce on this project. Their vast experience and expertise in providing highly innovative and reliable power and propulsion solutions, particularly in the mobile drilling sector, is a tremendous asset as we build these highly advanced drill ships for Petrobras.”

The vessels will be used by Petrobras to support extraction from wells along the pre-salt layer, located 2,000m to 3,0000m below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Brazil.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce is further investing in the Brazilian offshore sector and will open a new facility in 2013 in Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro which will be dedicated to the assembly and testing of RB211 industrial gas turbines.