Petrobras to build 26 tankers

Transpetro, the transportation arm of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, has signed an agreement with the Atl?ntico Sul consortium for building 10 new Suezmax oil tankers. This is the first order in the company’s fleet modernization and expansion program, which forecasts the building of 42 deep-sea vessels.

According to Petrobras, its Atl?ntico Sul shipyard should give rise to a naval industry hub in Pernambuco. The total contract value is $1.21 billion and is estimated to generate 10,000 jobs in the state.

The consortium comprises of building companies Camargo Corr?a, Andrade Gutierrez and Queiroz Galv?o, the Aker Promar shipyard, and Korean group Samsung. In addition to the 10 ships to be built in Pernambuco, the first phase of the fleet modernization plan includes the manufacturing of 16 other oil tankers which, according to Transpetro, should generate 22,000 jobs. These additional vessels will be built at shipyards in the south-eastern state of Rio de Janeiro (Rio Naval Consortium and Mau? Jurong Shipyard) and in the southern state of Santa Catarina (Itaja? Shipyard). All of the companies involved won a tender last year and the 26 ships to be built during the first phase will cost approximately $2.5 billion.

Transpetro claims that the cost is only 1% higher than what would be spent if the orders were placed with foreign shipyards thus proving that Brazil is capable of competing in the global market again.

The Petrobras program is part of a strategy of the Brazilian government for revitalizing the country’s maritime industry. The vessels to be built in the Transpetro project must have at least 65% of domestic input. The company forecasts that the first 26 ships will require 300,000 tonnes of steel plates and frames, 150,000 tonnes of pipes, more than 6 million litres of paint, and 2,500 kilometres of electric cables, among other materials.