PreSalt.com

04 Mar 2010 - by PreSalt.com - Source: STX Europe

To meet the growing market in Brazil, especially with the expected demand by Petrobras (Bovespa: PETR3/PETR4, NYSE: PBR / PBRA, Latibex: XPBR / XPBRA, BCBA: APBR / APBRA) and the pre-salt layer, STX Europe will expand its shipbuilding capacity for Offshore & Specialized vessels by setting up a new shipyard. The yard will be located in Fortaleza, in the Ceará state of Brazil.

STX Europe entered the Brazilian market ten years ago, and has by continuous effort and excellent cooperation with its local partners PJMR developed a strong position to meet the demanding requirements of the oil and gas industry in Brazil.

STX Europe has since the acquisition of the Niteroi shipyard in 2001 successfully delivered more than twenty vessels in the range from platform supply vessels to anchor handling tug supply vessels, ROV and pipelaying construction vessels. The yard has in the last few months received orders for three new advanced PSV offshore vessels, and has now eight vessels in the backlog for delivery up to 2013.

To meet the increased demand for building of more complex vessels in Brazil, , STX Norway Offshore AS (subsidiary of STX Europe AS) intends together with its Brazilian partner PJMR to invest approx USD 100 mill over a period of three years. The project is expected to benefit from domestic financing on favourable terms, supported by governmental resources.

Roy Reite, President of STX Europe's Offshore & Specialized Vessels business area, says:

- "The project is of strategic importance for our business area. The new shipyard will strengthen our ability to serve our clients in Brazil with increased capacity and capability. The new yard in Ceará aims to serve the growing Brazilian oil and gas market by supplying various types of vessels as offshore & specialized vessels and LPG carriers. We look forward to continuing the good cooperation with our clients and partners in Brazil."

The production capacity is estimated to be approx 20.000 tons of steel per year. The total yard area is 320.000 m². Production start is planned within a two years period. The new shipyard will have about 1500 employees in addition to subcontractors.