Transpetro, the transport arm of Brazil's federal energy company Petrobras (NYSE: PBR), has signed a contract with the Eisa shipyard for the construction of four Panamax oil tankers.
The US$349mn deal is part of Transpetro's fleet renewal program Promef, the company said in a statement.
In November, Transpetro signed a US$517mn agreement with the Atlântico Sul shipyard for the construction of five Aframax tankers.
The nine tankers were initially scheduled to be built by the Rio Indústria Naval consortium but due to difficulties in signing a long-term leasing in the Rio de Janeiro harbor area, the group gave up the order.
The four Panamax tankers are capable of transporting 550,000b, while the Aframax can carry 700,000b each, according to the statement.
"The first Panamax and Aframax tankers are scheduled to be delivered in August 2012 and August 2013 respectively," Israel Tabak, a Transpetro spokesperson, told BNamericas.
The delivery timeline for the three remaining Panamax is November 2012, May 2013 and September 2013. The other four Aframax vessels will be turned over in October 2013, December 2013, February 2014 and April 2014, he said.
Promef's first phase entails building 26 vessels, including 10 Suezmax, five Aframax and four Panamax tankers, four product vessels and three LPG transportation ships. Investment will total US$2.5bn.
The Atlântico Sul shipyard is responsible for the construction of the Suezmax tankers and the Mauá shipyard is in charge of the four product vessels. The contracts are worth US$1.29bn and US$277mn respectively.
The Itajaí shipyard, in Santa Catarina state, won the bidding to build the LPG transportation ships.
"We only need to confirm the Itajaí orders. They are facing problems because they were recently sold to a Spanish company," he said. Shipping group Elcano earlier this year bought Itajaí from navigation company Metalnave for US$85mn.
PHASE TWO
Transpetro in July launched a tender for Promef's phase two, when 23 more vessels will be built including four Suezmax and three Aframax tankers, eight product vessels, five LPG ships and three bunker vessels.
"The plan is to host the tender's second stage this year. It could happen in coming days," according to Tabak.
No comments:
Post a Comment