The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) approved a US$ 378 million loan to Petrobras Netherlands, Dutch subsidiary of the Brazilian stated owned oil giant.
The resources will be directed to the construction of a semi submersible platform (P-52) for the production of oil and natural gas, which will have a total cost of US$ 895 million; US$ 758 million of which are for building and assembling, with US$ 137 million reserved for the gas compression and electric energy generating modules.
The joint venture FSTP Pte. Ltd., formed by the companies Fels Setal (75%) and Technip Engenharia, is in charge of the construction of the P-52.
The joint venture won, in September last year, the tender bidding to build the oil platform. The condition for the resource concession was that the money be spent hiring services or buying goods only from Brazil.
The BNDES explains that, in the case of financing US$ 378 million to Petrobras Netherlands, they will consider as Brazilian goods the machines, equipments and materials that reach, at least, 60% of nationalization rate, according to criteria used by the BNDES Special Industrial Financing Agency (Finame), excluding all taxes, except for the import tax.
According to a statement from the bank, disclosed on November 10, financing to Petrobras has been made directly, without intermediation from commercial banks.
Currently, Petrobras Netherlands BV owns 4 vessels leased to Petrobras – the production platforms P-8, P-15 and P-32, and the drillship platform FSO P-47, which is being adapted to receive the output from the wells, separate the oil, gas and water, and then store the oil, send the gas to the land via gas pipelines and return the treated water to the sea.
The topside of platform P-52 will be built in the Brasfels shipyard, in the city of Angra dos Reis, on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The facility, which occupies an area of 70,000 square meters, belongs to the Verolme-Ishibras Industries, and was leased to Fels Setal in March 2000 for 30 years.
As well as the shipyard in Angra dos Reis, Fels Setal counts on two other units in the cities of Niterói and Macaé, also in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The topside is the main part of the platform, which includes personnel accommodations, production processing units, anchorage and stability systems, as well as gas compression and electric energy generating modules and other equipments.
The companies
Fels Setal was created in March 2000, after a joint venture between Keppel Fels, from Singapore (60%) and Pem Setal, from Brazil, with 40%.
The Keppel group is one of the international leaders in building platforms and offshore equipments for the oil and gas industry, having designed and built more than 250 ships and platforms of varied types and functions.
The Pem Setal group is made up of 6 companies, which act in sectors like the chemical and petrochemical , oil and gas , metallurgy of iron and steel, mining, paper and cellulose, subway transportation, telecommunications and business related to public and private infrastructure.
In Brazil, Fels Setal and Technip Engenharia (a subsidiary of French group Technip) formed FSTP Brasil Ltda., which will be responsible for the construction and assembly of the topside of the platform.
FSTP Brasil Ltda. will export P-52 to the joint venture FSTP Pte. Ltd., which will then deliver the platform to Petrobras Netherlands BV.
In other words, FSTP Brazil will be sub hired by FSTP Singapore and will receive the resource from the BNDES, on behalf of Petrobras Netherlands BV, which will then lease platform P-52 for Petrobras to operate in Campos Basin, on the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
ANBA ”“ Brazil-Arab News Agency