Brazil Offshore Shipbuilding 'Center of Excellence' Planned

Petrobras plans to build the center, which is intended to help shipbuilders meet the company's pre-salt oil & gas exploration needs.

The plans to build a center of excellence for the shipbuilding industry in Brazil were highlighted in the presentation made by Paulo Sergio Rodrigues Alonso, Petrobras Local Content Advisor to the President and the Executive Coordinator of Prominp, during an event sponsored by the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce (Bratecc), in Houston, an event occurring in parallel with the recent Offshore Technology Conference (OTC).

Paulo Alonso stressed that the biggest challenge today is to push the pre-salt forward in the shipbuilding industry and the shipyards. "NASA's slogan is well-fitting in this situation 'Failure is not an option'. We are working with the shipyards so that we can meet the demand and stay on track with the schedule defined in our Business Plan, they cannot fail. There are many challenges in achieving a benchmark in the shipbuilding industry, and partnerships with international companies and Universities are absolutely essential."



The average local content in Petrobras' exploration and production operations today is between 55% and 65%. "For the other 35% we need the support of international companies so we can develop our projects. We understand that the association with international companies is the best solution for technological bottlenecks, in addition to working in partnership with universities to achieve long-term results", he explained.



Paulo Alonso highlighted the growth in demand for goods and services for the shipbuilding industry over the next five years. "All Petrobras contracts are based on international standards, so we know the cost of the equipment and services within the project."

He also highlighted Petrobras local content policy, the Prominp (National Mobilization Program of the Petroleum Industry) and the importance of the Brazilian shipbuilding industry's growth. "While oil and gas production continues to grow with the development of the pre-salt, investment opportunities and partnerships in the sector will continue to grow for investors in the entire oil supply chain. Due to the operations in the pre-salt and the magnitude of our business plan, perspectives and specifics of deepwater exploration, we cannot use off-the-shelf equipment, we need to develop technology and equipment to meet this demand."

However he concluded: "International companies interested in establishing themselves in Brazil are welcome and will work in partnership with Brazilian companies, or even by themselves."