Sete Brasil News

MHWirth, a subsidiary of Norwegian oil services investment firm Akastor, has received an arbitration award issued by a tribunal in a dispute with Seatrium’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard over the termination of four drilling rig unit contracts.As part of the ruling, MHW has been awarded an amount of $101 million as payment of termination fees.In addition, MHW has been made eligible for the reimbursement of legal costs and certain suspension costs (totaling about $7 million), as well as interest.Although the drilling rig unit contracts are held by MHW…

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings is offering to buy control of conglomerate Keppel Corp in a S$4.1 billion ($3 billion) deal that could hasten a consolidation in the rig building sector which is battling the effects of low oil prices.The announcement, which confirmed what two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier on Monday, boosted shares in rig builder Sembcorp Marine by 12% on expectations of a likely shake-up in the industry. Shares in Sembcorp's parent Sembcorp Industries rose 10%.Keppel's offshore and marine unit…

Singapore firms Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine said on Monday they had reached settlements with indebted Brazilian firm Sete Brasil over long-standing contracts to build drillships and rigs.Sete, which leased oil rigs to Brazil's state oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), filed for bankruptcy protection in 2016 after being engulfed in a massive corruption scandal.Keppel and Sembcorp Marine are among a host of firms caught up in the wide-ranging "Car Wash" investigation.

Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp posted improved results for the fourth quarter, helped by narrower losses in its offshore and marine division, and said it was seeing signs of recovery in the rig industry.The company on Thursday reported a net profit of S$135 million ($99.2 million) for the quarter ended December, compared with a net loss of S$492 million a year earlier, when it accounted for a fine its rig-building unit agreed to pay to resolve bribery charges in Brazil.The latest profit was 6 percent higher than a profit of S$127 million it would have reported a year earlier…

Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp on Thursday posted a 15 percent fall in third-quarter net profit, hurt by lower contributions from its investments and property divisions.Keppel, whose businesses range from rig-building to property development, posted a net profit of S$226 million ($164 million) for the quarter ended September, versus S$265 million a year earlier.Total revenue for the quarter stood at S$1.3 billion, a 20 percent fall from a year earlier.Higher revenue recognition from ongoing offshore and marine projects and increased power and gas sales were offset by lower contributions from property trading, asset management, as well as the absence of the sale of investments…

Singapore's Keppel Corp posted a 44 percent rise in its second-quarter profit, citing stronger earnings from its property and infrastructure divisions that offset losses in its other segments, including offshore and marine.Keppel, whose businesses range from rig-building to property development, posted a net profit of S$246 million ($179 million)for the quarter ended June, versus S$171 million a year-ago.Total revenue at the company, in which Singapore state investor Temasek is the biggest shareholder, was S$1.52 billion, slightly lower than the S$1.55 billion posted a year ago.Profit at the company's property division rose 132 percent to S$225 million, helped by en bloc sales in some development projects and a fair value gain.Its offshore and marine (O&M) division, which builds drilling r

Singaporean rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd said on Wednesday first-quarter profit fell 86 percent, and signaled a subdued outlook for orders and business volumes.Sembcorp Marine said profit came in at S$5.3 million ($4 million) for the three-month period ended March, compared with S$37 million in the same period a year ago.The year-ago profit was boosted by an one-off gain from the disposal of Sembcorp Marine's stake in Cosco Shipyard Co.Overall business volume has remained significantly below peak levels…

Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp swung to its first quarterly net loss in 14 years, after accounting for a huge fine its rig-building unit agreed to pay to resolve investigations into charges it bribed Brazilian officials. Keppel, last month, said its offshore rig-building business had agreed to pay more than $422 million to resolve the bribery probe brought against it by authorities in the United States, Brazil and Singapore. Investigations with respect to the individuals involved are ongoing. The company, whose businesses range from rig-building to property development, reported a net loss of S$495 million for the fourth quarter ended December, compared with a net profit of S$143 million in the year-ago period.

Petróleo Brasileiro SA informs that an arbitration award favorable to the company has rejected a request made by an investor of Sete Brasil Participações SA - in judicial reorganization. "Petrobras, pursuant to CVM Instruction 358/2002, informs about an arbitration award, favorable to the company, which rejected a request made by an investor of Sete Brasil Participações SA, in judicial reorganization, in the arbitration proposed against Petrobras, with the purpose of obtaining reimbursement of investment made in the Sondas Project," said a press release from the company. According to Petrobras, the updated value of the process related to the rig company is approximately 318 million reais.

Q2 profit S$161 million versus S$205 million year ago; O&M division net order book at S$3.4 billion. Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp posted a 21 percent drop in its quarterly profit and warned it did not expect a speedy recovery in the offshore and marine market. The conglomerate and its smaller cross-town rival Sembcorp Marine have been hit by an oversupply of offshore oil drilling rigs, with customers delaying contracts and refraining from placing new orders with oil prices expected to stay lower for longer. "Despite some pick-up in activity in the offshore market, the general consensus is that, with the prevailing uncertainty in the oil market, and oversupply in the jackup market, a quick recovery is unlikely," said CEO Loh Chin Hua.

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine Ltd swung to a loss in the third quarter and the rig builder's revenue was hurt by customers deferring rig deliveries amid a protracted downturn in the oil and natural gas market. The company posted a net loss of S$21.8 million ($15.7 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a net profit of S$32.1 million a year ago. It said the bottomline was hurt by higher financing costs, share of losses from associates and foreign exchange impact. The company, majority-owned by industrial conglomerate Sembcorp Industries Ltd, said revenue dropped 21 percent.

Sete Brasil Participações SA presented a draft reorganization plan on Friday that includes seeking up to $5 billion in funding and downsizing business, three months after the Brazilian rig leaser sought court protection against 18 billion reais ($5.7 billion) in looming debt payments. Rio de Janeiro-based Sete Brasil is asking creditors, which include some of the world's leading shipbuilders and Brazil's largest lenders, to endorse a plan to help build between eight and 12 rigs, down from an original target of 28, Chief Executive Officer Luiz Eduardo Carneiro said in an interview. The plan was submitted to a court in Rio de Janeiro, where Sete Brasil's reorganization is being handled, said the firm.

Investment management firm EIG Management Co added Brazil's engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA and a few other shipyards in its $221 million fraud suit against Petroleo Brasileiro SA. EIG, in a filing on Wednesday, alleged that Odebrecht SA and other shipyards along with Petrobras misled the firm to invest over $221 million to purchase equity in now-bankrupt Sete Brasil Participacoes SA. The other shipyards mentioned in the filing by EIG and eight of its managed funds include Keppel Corporation Ltd, Sembcorp Marine Ltd and Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd. "Through a series of misrepresentations and omissions directed at EIG, Petrobras fraudulently…

Revenue falls 30 pct; order book at S$9.7 billion. Singapore rig-builder Sembcorp Marine's quarterly profit halved as customers deferred projects, and it faces prolonged uncertainty on contracts from its biggest client, Sete Brasil, whose shareholders have approved its bankruptcy. Sembcorp Marine posted a profit of S$55 million ($41 million) for the three months ended March 31, compared with a profit of S$106 million a year ago. Sembcorp Marine and its cross-town rival Keppel Corp have been hit by slumping orders as oil prices dropped nearly 60 percent since mid-2014. Exacerbating the situation are troubles at Sete Brasil, a company set up by corruption-battered Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras).

Keppel Corp., the world’s largest builder of oil rigs, posted a 41 per cent fall in quarterly profit, its fourth straight decline, as offshore and marine segment revenue slumped because of the deferment of some projects and suspension of contracts related to Sete Brasil. The Singapore conglomerate has been hit by the 60 per cent drop in oil prices since mid-2014. Its businesses include property development and infrastructure. Net income dropped to S$211 million ($156 million) from S$360 million a year earlier, Keppel said in a statement Monday. Sales slumped 38% to S$1.7 billion from S$2.8 billion. The higher contribution from its property business at 47% helped to partially offset lower profits from offshore and marine sectors, the company said in the statement.

Brazilian police said on Monday they were looking into possible bribes paid in contracts signed by state-run oil company Petrobras and shipbuilder Sete Brasil with Singapore's Keppel Fels. Federal police carried out a fresh wave of searches and arrests on Monday in the ongoing "Operations Car Wash" corruption investigation that started nearly two years ago. Brazilian engineering giant Odebrecht, one of the main companies at the center of the scandal, said its offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and in Bahia were searched by police.   Reporting by Reese Ewing

The strain of low oil prices on the offshore and marine sector was in full display as  the world’s second-largest builder of oil rigs Sembcorp Marine Ltd posted its first quarterly loss in at least 12 years. The company took impairment charges and provisions of S$609 million for projects of its client Sete Brasil Participacoes SA and others. It’s the first quarterly loss since the company started reporting data in 2003, according to Sembcorp Marine’s website. Sete Brasil is a private company set up in 2010 to build, own and lease deepwater rigs to state-run oil producer Petrobras. But Sete ran into financing difficulties in 2014, after it was caught up in a corruption scandal involving Petrobras executives…

Posts S$535 mln loss vs year ago profit; net order book backlog at S$10.4 billion. Singaporean rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd posted its first quarterly loss, hit by writedowns and project delays by its key customers, underscoring the strain caused by plunging crude oil prices. The company also warned that it expects the downtrend to last longer than previous cycles as Singapore's $10 billion rig building industry faces cancellations and a dearth of new orders. For the fourth quarter, Sembcorp posted a S$535.2 million ($383 million) attributable loss, excluding non-operating items, compared with a profit S$174 million for the same year ago period. It said fourth-quarter net profit would have been S$99 million before impairments and provisions and losses from associates and joint ventures.

Enseada Shipbuilding was established to build deepwater drillships for Petrobras. Seventy percent of the company is owned by a consortium composed of Brazilian companies, Odebrecht (50 percent), OAS (25 percent), UTC (25 percent), with the remaining 30 percent belonging to Japanese shipbuilding giant, Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI). With all the Brazilian shareholders involved in the Car Wash “Lava Jato” operation, investigating corruption and embezzlement schemes with Petrobras, Kawasaki is a key partner, as is it not only responsible for technology transfer and providing professional training for the local workforce and operational consultancy in several areas within the shipbuilding process, as it also offers credibility to the shipyard.

Singapore-based rig builder Keppel Offshore & Marine saw profits fall for last year along with revenues. It also revealed work had slowed on rigs being built for Sete Brasil with the Brazilian company not making payments in over a year. Keppel’s profit was S$481 million for the full year., down 54% from S$1,040 a year ago. For the quarter O&M business recorded a net loss of $61 million. It posted a net loss of $42.54 million for Q4 2015, down from a net profit of $200.18 million in the previous year, with the decline attributed to lower volume of work and deferment of some projects. Keppel Corporation has halted work on its projects for Sete Brasil and made a provision of about $230 million for the possible write-offs, said chief executive Loh Chin Hua.

A group of Japanese shipbuilders led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) plans to exit its 30 percent stake in Brazilian shipbuilder Ecovix and declare the investment as a loss, Valor Economico newspaper reported on Tuesday. The group led by MHI plans to sell its stake in Ecovix, which it bought in 2013 for about $300 million, to Jackson Empreendimentos for a "symbolic amount," Valor reported. Jackson Empreendimentos owns the remaining 70 percent of Ecovix, the controller of Estaleiro Rio Grande (ERG) shipyard in the Brazilian city of Rio Grande. In addition to MHI, the Japanese group includes Mitsubishi Co and the Imabari, Namura and Oshima Shipbuilding companies, the newspaper reported. MHI's Brazilian unit did not answer calls requesting comment.

Brazil’s Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) has recommended the deepening of investigations into 10 companies - including Keppel, SembCorp Marine and Kawasaki Heavy-  involved in the alleged bribery transactions with Petrobras and Sete Brasil. The investigations follow allegations by a former engineering manager at Petrobras, which is caught up in a massive procurement corruption scandal that has contributed to efforts to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Singapore rig builder Keppel Corp. Ltd said in a statement its unit Keppel FELS Brasil intends to extend its full cooperation to the authorities if approached. Keppel reiterates its zero-tolerance stance against any form of illegal activity…

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine has not received payment from Sete Brasil on drillship projects this year and may slow down the projects if the situation persists, a company executive said on Wednesday. "Basically what has been ongoing, based on the delay, I think there may be some slow down," Tan Cheng Tat, Chief Financial Officer, said at an earnings briefing. Tan confirmed that despite the non-payment, the drillship projects for Sete Brasil remained cash flow positive. The orders for seven drillships from Sete Brasil account for about half of the company's net order book. Reporting by Rujun Shen