“Dealy is the main risk to our project”, João Ferraz, CEO of SeteBrasil said during an OTC luncheon last week. More than 15.000 professionals found their way to the offshore technology conference in Riocentro.
João Ferraz was the keynote speaker during a luncheon on the last day of the event, where he talked about the local construction of 28 new state-of-the-art drilling rigs.
High local content requirements and the lack of experience in the Brazilian naval industry are among the main challenges identified by Mr. Ferraz.
“We need to deliver from 55-65% local content. This is very high. Another challenge is that there is no track record of rigs for ultradeep waters being built in Brazil. It´s a pioneer project. To dilute the risks, we have teamed up with six different drilling companies, and the rigs are being built by five different shipyards. We have diversified our portfolio”, Mr. Ferraz said
Norwegian Seadrill and Odfjell are among these drilling companies, described as highly competent by Mr. Ferraz. He talked a lot about risk mitigation, and in his opinion, avoiding delays is the biggest challenge.
“Delay is the main risk and we have developed several mechanisms to mitigate construction delays. We have an agreement with the FGCN, Fundo de Garantia para Construção Naval, which gives us a performance and credit guarantee, and we have a 900 million USD construction supervision budget. A lot of money, but in our understanding this is a key element for mitigating risk”
Best suppliers in the industry
SeteBrasil also demanded that the shipyards had an international partner with proven technological experience, and João Ferraz sees the SeteBrasil project as a way to strengthen local industry and build competitive Brazilian shipyards.
“Even though the shipyards have never constructed a rig in Brazil before, they are using proven rig designs with solid track records. We are also using the best suppliers in the industry, and all major orders have been placed”, he said. Kongsberg has landed important contracts on DP-systems and NOV and Aker MH on drilling packages, according to slides Mr. Ferraz showed.
As for the construction, the yards are ahead of schedule. According to Mr. Ferraz 20,4 % of the work on the first batch of rigs, scheduled for delivery in 2015-2016, is completed. According to the timeline 19,5 % of the work had to be completed at this point.
“This is a game changer to Brazil, and will give us fully capable shipyards, even though we are not there yet. It was a crazy dream which is now becoming reality.”
Simulator
The content of Mr. Ferraz´presentation at OTC is of great importance and interest to Norwegian players in the Brazilian market. The number of Norwegian exhibitors was however quite low at this year´s conference.
Judging by the size of their stands, Kongsberg Maritime and Aptomar are among the companies that still believe firmly in the opportunities in the Brazilian market. “Aptomar provides oil spill detection solutions and is in the process of establishing permanently in Brazil”, Lars Andre Solberg informs.
The stand of Aptomar featured a simulator called “The Securus System”, a technology that allows the identification and real-time monitoring of hazards in vessels such as oil spills and accidents. Visitors were allowed to test the equipment, which captures infrared images and offers interactive maps and real-time sharing of images with an onshore installation.
Lars Haahjem, sales manager at the stand of MacGregor, is satisfied with the outcome of OTC 2013. MacGregor offers solutions for handling marine cargoes and offshore loads.
“We were here in 2011 and also participated at the Rio Oil&Gas expo last year. To us, this year´s OTC has been good”, he says.
OTC Brasil took place for the first time in 2011, that year without the presence of Petrobras. This year more than 15.000 professionals found their way to the conference.
Other Norwegian related exhibitors this year were DNV, Vector, M&O Partners, Rolls-Royce and FMC Technologies. A total of 400 exhibitors participated and there were 7 international pavilions.
Statoil, DNV, Aker Solutions, Framo and Kongsberg Oil&Gas representatives presented papers during the technical sessions. A total of 192 papers were presented.
READ MORE:
Luncheon with Graca Foster: “We can´t do it alone”
OTC seminar: A practical approach to local content
Coming up: Signifant Norwegian presence at OTC
By Runa Hestmann Tierno, NBCC journalist
(runa.tierno@nbcc.com.br)
Photo courtesy of OTC Brasil and RHT
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