The new MHWirth Macaé plant was formally inaugurated on May 10th during a ceremony with approximately 100 representatives from customers, other business partners, and authorities.
The new plant represents an investment of approximately R$ 230 million and includes 26,000 sqm of constructed area.
“With this new plant, we are investing in the future and significantly increasing our capacity and ability to manufacture and perform overhaul activities on all our equipment – both top side equipment and drilling risers”, says Trond Fiskum Senior Vice President responsible for MHWirth business in Brazil.
Chief Commercial Officer in MHWirth, Roy Dyrseth added: “Brazil has been and will continue to be an important player in offshore oil production. This plant will provide the Brazilian market with local services and products for many decades to come. We are in Brazil for the long term and believe that the current downturn in the market is just temporary. When offshore drilling starts to recover in Brazil we will be prepared”.
The new plant consists of an 11,500 sqm riser manufacturing and overhaul facility that has been carefully designed according to lean manufacturing principles and where all key processes like welding, heat treatment, blasting, and painting are done in-house to secure cost competitiveness and quality.
The plant also includes an 8,500 sqm top side facility with a full scale DDM test tower utilised to ensure the equipment is fully operational prior to installation in the drilling unit. The facility has overhead cranes with capacity up to 80 ton and lifting heights up to 16 meters.
The administrative building contains a new training centre and features a 240° realistic dome simulator that places customer personnel in a realistic drilling environment in a cost efficient and risk-free manner. The centre offers training to help customers to improve rig performance and reduce costs. The site also provides other services such as spare part sales and technical support teams that give customers operational support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Facts about new plant:
-Total land area of 336,000 sqm, including storage area of more than 100,000 sqm.
-Building area of 26,000 sqm.
-Current employees: Approximately 200
-Total investment of BRL 230 million
Facts about MHWirth:
MHWirth is a leading global provider of first-class and advanced drilling solutions and services designed to offer clients with the safer, more efficient and reliable alternative.
The company is headquartered in Kristiandsand, Norway, has some 2600 employees, and has operations in more than 20 countries.
MHWirth has been present in Brazil since 1997. It is fully owned by Akastor which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Aker Solutions opened new subsea plant
In 2014, Aker Solutions split into two companies. The subsea, umbilicals, engineering and maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) areas formed a new company under the Aker Solutions name while the other units, including Drilling Technologies, Aker Oilfield Services and Process Systems, is being developed independently as part of a new oil-services investment company, named Akastor. MHWirth is fully owned by Akastor.
Maria Peralta, Alan Brunnen and Luis Araujo at the opening of the new subsea plant in Curitiba.. PHOTO COURTESY OF AKER SOLUTIONS.In April, Aker Solutions also opened its brand new subsea facility in Curitiba, designed to be a leading manufacturing and technology center to help drive developments of one of the world’s most important offshore oil and gas areas.
This state-of-the-art facility currently has about 850 employees and is dedicated to machining, welding, surface treatment, assembly and testing of Christmas trees and other subsea equipment. It will provide the first subsea control systems manufacturing capability in Brazil, enabling delivery of complete well systems that are placed on the seafloor.
«The facility will build on and strengthen our nearly four-decade presence in Brazil, which is a key global offshore market with significant deepwater and subsea potential», Aker Solutions’ Chief Executive Officer Luis Araujo said.
«It reinforces our commitment to developing local competence and working with our customers to create long-term value in this major oil and gas province.»
The plant, located in the city of São José dos Pinhais, will double the company’s production capacity in the country. It is part of a global delivery model with subsea execution hubs in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe and will support customers both in and outside of Brazil. Aker Solutions is also upgrading its subsea services unit in Rio das Ostras to better meet customer demand.
The company earlier this year secured a contract to provide maintenance and other services on subsea equipment delivered by Aker Solutions to Petrobras in Brazil. The agreement has a fixed period of three years valued at BRL 435 million (NOK 1 billion) after tax and may be extended by another three years. Aker Solutions has since 1997 delivered more than two-thirds of 290 subsea trees ordered for Petrobras-operated offshore oil and gas fields in Brazil. About 200 of these have been installed.
«The new plant enables us to cost-effectively support Petrobras’ production and growth plans and deliver on our existing order backlog in Brazil,” said Maria Peralta, head of Aker Solutions’ Brazilian operations. «It provides sufficient capacity for future business needs.»
Aker Solutions, established in Brazil since 1978, employs about 1,300 people in the country. The company is a leading provider of subsea equipment and services in Brazil’s offshore pre-salt market.
Source: MHWirth and Aker Solutions
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