OSX Brasil gets funding for Açu Shipbuilding Unit

OSX Brasil S.A. reports that subsidiary OSX Construção Naval S/A has received a  $227.9 million disbursement under a bridge loan entered into with the Brazilian Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), for the funding of the construction of its Açu Shipbuilding Unit, which began July 2011, at the Açu Industrial Complex in the City of São João da Barra, in the Northern region of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

“The construction of the Açu Shipbuilding Unit is underway, in order to begin steel cutting for OSX’s fleet of oil and gas production platforms in the first quarter of 2013. This $227.9 million disbursement advances part of the R$ 2.7 billion FMM long-term funding, dedicated to the implementation of the Açu Shipbuilding Unit, which we are developing in partnership with our fellow shareholder and technology partner Hyundai Heavy Industries, the global leader in naval construction,” stated OSX’s CEO, Luiz Eduardo Carneiro.

The main characteristics of the shipyard are:

• Fifth generation shipyard leveraging the Korean technology of Hyundai
• Largest shipyard of the Americas, creating more than 10,000 direct jobs during the operational phase
• Located in the Açu Superport Industrial Complex, with excellent logistics and strategic location,  approximately 150 km from the Campos Basin, responsible for 85 percent of Brazil’s crude oil output
• Proximity to steel plants, enabling operation with steel plates of 18 m x 4 m, generating up to a 56 percent cost reduction in welding
• Near to energy plants, guaranteeing its supply and up to 30% cost reduction
• Quay of 2,400 m, expandable to 3,525 m, enabling the integration of up to 11 FPSOs

The general conditions of the loan are: interest rate of approximately 5.4 percent p.a., with an 18-month maturity period, principal and interest to be paid at the end of the maturity period or upon first disbursement of the long-term loan from the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM), for which the Açu Shipbuilding Unit was granted funding priority in June 2011, with a total term of approximately 20 years and interest rate in Dollars + 2 percent to 4 percent p.a.

The long-term funding contract with the FMM is currently being negotiated with the transfer agents BNDES and Caixa Econômica Federal. The total credit approval in the amount of R$2.7 billion has already been obtained and the guarantee conditions have been defined.

January 11, 2012