Rio News

Offshore wind developer Corio Generation, a Macquarie Group company, and Brazilian shipyard and marine construction company Estaleiros do Brasil (EBR) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore how EBR’s facilities could support future offshore wind projects off Brazil’s south coast.Corio and EBR will look at how EBR’s existing infrastructure, located close to Rio Grande port in Brazil’s southern province of Rio Grande do Sul, could support the deployment of two offshore wind farms planned for the south of the country.These include Cassino Offshore Wind (1…

Vale has signed a five-year contract with Brazil's Wilson Sons covering scheduled maintenance for seven of its vessels.Under the contract, scheduled maintenance will be carried out on Vale’s five tugboats and two ferryboats operating in Rio de Janeiro, at Wilson Sonss shipyards in Guarujá, Port of Santos.Operating on all five continents, Vale produces iron ore, pellets and nickel, and its vessels in Brazil provide port support, assisting the docking and undocking of ships at the Guaíba Island Terminal (TIG)…

Norwegian offshore supply vessel company DOF Group has secured multiple contracts with Petrobras for work offshore Brazil.AHTS Skandi Jupiter and AHTS Skandi Mercury, both under management contracts with DOF, have been contracted by Petrobras to operate as AHTS 230t BP after the same competitive tender process earlier this year that led to the contract of Skandi Amazonas, Skandi Rio and Skandi Botafogo.Both Skandi Jupiter and Skandi Mercury are currently operating in the North…

Singaporean rig- and shipbuilder Seatrium has tapped the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to class a pair of floating production storage and offloading units (FPSO) being built for Brazil's state-owned Petrobras, the classification society announced. Slated for delivery in 2029, the FPSOs P-84 and P-85 will be deployed in the Atapu and Sépia fields, located in the eastern part of the Santos Basin, approximately 200 kilometers offshore of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Each have a production capacity of 225…

Brazilian logistics firm Transpetro, a subsidiary of state-run oil firm Petrobras, has launched a procurement notice to commission four new coastal vessels, Transpetro's chief executive announced on Monday.The four vessels would be of the 'handy' class with a capacity of 15,000 to 18,000 deadweight tonnage, Transpetro CEO Sergio Bacci said at an event on Monday in Rio de Janeiro.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is pushing Petrobras to help strengthen the country's naval industry, which he sees as key to job creation, after it lost relevance over the past decade due to corruption s

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Group has secured two long-term contracts with Petrobras for its Pipelay Support Vessel (PLSV) and the Anchor Handling Support vessel (AHTS).The Brazilian built and flagged PLSV Skandi Niterói is awarded a three-year firm plus option contract, starting in 2025. The vessel is owned by DOFCON Navegação, a joint venture between DOF Subsea (50%) and TechnipFMC (50%).Built in 2011, the vessel is of STX OSCV 06 design. It is 142.2 meter long, with the breadth of 27 meter…

The head of Brazil's environmental agency said on Wednesday that he expects a decision soon on state-owned oil company Petrobras' request to conduct exploratory studies in a region known as the Equatorial Margin, as both the company and the government push for a drilling license.Petrobras has been seeking to explore the northernmost part of the Equatorial Margin, near the mouth of the Amazon River, but got a red light from environment watchdog Ibama in May of last year due to concerns over the possible impact on Indigenous communities and the environment.

Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras has signed an agreement with the Rio de Janeiro state government to study a potential offshore wind power pilot project, the firm said on Tuesday in a securities filing.(Reuters - Reporting by Luana Maria Benedito; Editing by Kylie Madry)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday threw his weight behind a push by state-run oil company Petrobras to explore the environmentally sensitive offshore Equatorial Margin, saying Brazil cannot give up such an opportunity.The offshore region along the northern coast is seen as Brazil's most promising frontier for oil exploration as it shares geology with nearby Guyana, where Exxon Mobil is developing huge fields."When we start exploring the so-called Equatorial Margin…

Seatrium has secured a contract from Petrobras, acting as operator of Atapu and Sepia consortiums, for the newbuild supply of FPSO platforms P-84 and P-85.With the contracts valued at approximately S$11 billion, these high throughput FPSOs will be deployed in the Atapu and Sépia fields, located in the eastern part of the Santos Basin, approximately 200 kilometers offshore of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.The P-84 and P-85 platforms are part of Petrobras' new generation of FPSO platforms, characterized by a high production capacity that prioritize sustainable practices with innovative technologies.

The Olympic flame landed on French soil amid tight security on Wednesday, firing the starting gun on a summer extravaganza of sport that President Emmanuel Macron hopes will showcase the splendours of France and burnish his legacy.The flame arrived in Marseille, a port city in southern France founded by Greek merchants, after a 12-day trip from Greece onboard the Belem, a 128-year-old three-masted tall ship that once transported sugar from France's colonies in the West Indies to the metropole.The torch was brought to land by Florent Manaudou…

Marine towage provider Svitzer announced it has taken delivery of the final tug in a series of six built for its operations in Brazil.Built by Brazilian shipyard Rio Maguari, the new vessel Svitzer Babitonga is an Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tugboat from the 2300 Rampart Series, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. These sister vessels boast a top speed of 13 knots, an overall length of 23.2 meters, and a bollard pull of 70 tonnes. Svitzer Babitonga is also equipped with Fifi-1 firefighting…

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Group has secured two contracts with Brazil’s state-run oil and gas company Petrobras, worth over $192 million.Petrobras has awarded new long-term charter and service contracts to Norskan Offshore. and DOF Subsea Servicos Brasil, after a competitive tender process.The vessel Skandi Amazonas, which was on the spot market, is chartered for three years firm with two years mutually agreed option via Petrobras tender issued late in 2023, to operate…

Esgian reports on the many rig movements that occurred last week in its Week 16 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsADES Holding Company has received a letter of award from an international oil company for a one-year firm drilling contract for a jackup offshore Qatar.TotalEnergies has exercised a three-well option for Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Skyros offshore Angola at a rate of $400,000, keeping the rig working into December 2025.After initially beginning a short-term job in the US GOM in January 2024…

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

The presidents of France and Brazil on Wednesday launched a submarine built in the South American country with French technology in a program that aims to build Brazil's first nuclear-powered submarine by the end of the decade.Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended a ceremony in the Itaguai shipyard near Rio de Janeiro, launching the third diesel-powered submarine built in a $10 billion partnership.Brazil first lady Janja da Silva smashed a champagne…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and Rio Tinto have signed the partnership agreement to enhance collaboration on both safety and crew welfare initiative and decarbonization of maritime transportation.MOL and Rio Tinto have agreed to further collaborate on shipping decarbonization in addition to the existing commitment to the DOO program through a deal signed on January 24, 2024.The DOO program is a Rio Tinto initiative aimed at enhancing safety and improving crew welfare in the…

NextDecade said on Monday it was targeting a final investment decision (FID) and plans to start construction of the fourth liquefaction train at its Rio Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Texas by the second half of 2024.The Rio Grande LNG export plant has been in development for several years, suffering repeated delays. Last year the company made an FID to construct the first three liquefaction trains at the facility.NextDecade expects to finalize commercial arrangements for Train 4 in the coming months to support the FID.

Energy and marine consultancy ABL Group has secured a contract by POSH Projects to act as tow master to support and supervise the towage of the Mero 3 FPSO from Yantai in China to Brazilian waters.As part of its scope of work, ABL’s operations in Singapore will provide a tow master to act as client representative throughout the 12,108 nautical mile towage.The tow master will supervise and ensure that all marine operations for the sail away from Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard are carried out in-line with approved recommendations and procedural documentation.

The Indian Navy on Friday rescued the crew of a merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea and said it had not found any pirates on board.An Indian Navy warship intercepted the Liberian-flagged MV Lila Norfolk bulk carrier less than a day after it had received a report that the vessel had been hijacked about 460 nautical miles off Somalia.About five to six armed people boarded the vessel on Thursday, according to a report received by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency…

Esgian's last roundup of the year for the Week 52 puts spotlight on new developments for Dolphin Drilling semisub, Seadrill drillships, as well as Shell’s plans for Australia and ONGC’s new tender for jackups in India.ContractsDolphin Drilling has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with an undisclosed operator for the 1,500-ft semisubmersible Borgland Dolphin to undertake a 500-day drilling campaign in the UK. The drilling campaign is planned to begin directly after the firm part of the contract period with EnQuest, which was announced in late November 2023.

Pavilion Energy, the charterer of Singapore’s recently delivered first membrane LNG bunker vessel Brassavola, has concluded its first Ship-to-Ship (STS) LNG bunkering operation.Pavilion Energy said on February 19, 2024, the bunkering operation to Rio Tinto chartered dual-fueled bulk carrier, Mount Api was successfully completed.Brassavola was recently delivered by Seatrium, to owner Indah Singa Maritime, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL).Seatrium Delivers Singapore’s…

Gulf LNG Tugs of Texas has been selected to provide towage services for the Texas LNG export terminal to be constructed in the Port of Brownsville.Gulf LNG Tugs, a consortium of Suderman & Young Towing Company, Bay-Houston Towing, and Moran Towing Corporation, will build, deliver and operate tugboats under a long term agreement to assist LNG carriers arriving at the facility.Texas LNG will be a 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal owned and managed by Glenfarne Energy Transition.