SBM Offshore Signs Cooperation Agreement with Naval Ventures Corp.

SBM Offshore announces it has signed a Shareholders’ Agreement with Naval Ventures Corp. (a member of Synergy Group) under which the two companies will cooperate and work together through one or more special-purpose entities in order to:

(a) jointly develop and operate a yard and a FPSO integration quayside at Niterói/Brazil for the fabrication and pre-commissioning of topside modules and other systems and equipment related to the offshore oil & gas industry, and also for FPSO integration and commissioning;

(b) jointly upgrade, own and operate a floating crane to provide heavy lift solutions/services in Brazil.

The yard and quayside are located next to Rio-Niteroi bridge, at the centre of the Oil & Gas Industry in Brazil, close to a large skilled resource base and numerous service providers. The floating crane will be upgraded to meet the heavy lifting requirements (>500T) for lifting FPSO modules onto the FPSO deck. The heavy lifting capabilities will be unique in Brazil.

The agreement is based on a long-term cooperation between the companies, in which they will combine their expertise and provide a solution for the increasing high-level local content requirements of the Brazilian market, where several large FPSO projects are expected to be developed in the coming years. SBM Offshore will be responsible for the overall project and site management activities, whilst Naval Ventures Corp. will make available the key assets and contribute with its shipbuilding and offshore construction know-how.

With this partnership SBM Offshore has secured access to alternative construction and integration capacity at a time when an imbalance is foreseen in the coming years between the local demand and the availability of qualified fabricators for topside modules, and of FPSO quaysides. Such long-term independent solution will permit SBM Offshore to continue to develop robust proposals for new projects while increasing the proportion of local content, and therefore supports the Company’s ambitions to grow its portfolio in the Brazilian market.

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Source: SBM Offshore, September, 30.  2011