Aker drilling packages for built-in-Brazil drillships

AUGUST 27, 2012 — Aker Solutions has won a contract to supply drilling equipment packages for a series of six deepwater drillships being built by Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard, Aracruz, Brazil. (See earlier story). The contract value was not undisclosed.

The contract includes complete topside and subsea equipment (drilling riser and BOP) packages for six drillships, and an option for one further unit.

The equipment will be delivered from Aker Solutions in Norway and Germany, as well as from the company’s new site in Brazil. Aker Solutions is building a new $100 million service and manufacturing facility in Macaé, Brazil’s offshore capital, in order to meet the company’s growth in the country.

The drilling units will be delivered between 2015 and 2019. The first Aker Solutions equipment will be delivered in the second half of 2013. The contract includes project management, engineering, topside equipment, subsea package including Aker Solutions’ Clip riser, and commissioning of the rigs at Jurong’s yard in Brazil.

“This contract confirms our strong position in the Brazilian offshore market as well as in the deepwater drilling market,” says Thor Arne Håverstad, head of Aker Solutions’ drilling technologies business. “We are grateful for the trust we have been shown by Jurong Shipyard, which we have worked closely with for two years to position ourselves for this opportunity. We look forward to continuing the good, long-term collaboration with the shipyard and the drilling contractors on this project.”

Between 20 and 50 per cent of the deliveries will be sourced and produced in Brazil, where Aker Solutions has had a strong presence since the 1990s. Today, more than 35 drilling units operate in Brazilian waters, using drilling equipment from Aker Solutions. The company also delivers subsea equipment, process systems and subsea intervention services locally to offshore operators in Brazil.

“With the delivery of six complete drilling packages, and a new service and manufacturing site under way in Macaé, Aker Solutions is taking another leap forward in Brazil. Over the last two decades, we have built a strong foundation to meet the growth we see in the market today. With 1 400 employees, we are committed to serve our clients in the Brazilian market,” says Luis Antonio Araujo, regional president of Aker Solutions in Brazil.

The 335,000 sq.m drilling equipment site in Macaé will be Aker Solutions’ fourth facility in Brazil, in addition to sites in Rio das Ostras, Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro.

The six new vessels will be operated by Norwegian drilling operators Seadrill and Odfjell Drilling (three each) under 15-year charter contracts from Petrobras. The drillships will be capable of operating at 10,000 feet water depth and drilling to depths of 40,000 ft.