Japanese Shipbuilders Acquire Footprint in Brazil, Led by MHI

On October 06, the P-55 production platform left the Rio Grande Shipyard, bound for Campos Basin. Image: Petrobras News Agency

Five Japanese shipbuilders – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation – have signed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) today to acquire a stake in ECOVIX -Engevix ConstruÃ§Ãµes OceÃ¢nicas S.A. (ECOVIX), a Brazilian shipbuilder focused on supporting Brazil’s offshore oil and gas industry.

The Japanese consortium, led by MHI with a 30 percent capital stake, will bring their collective engineering talent to bear on a mission to grow a stable and prosperous industry within Brazil, one that has seen its fair share of difficulties in recent years.

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ECOVIX was established in 2010 by Jackson Group, a Brazilian holding company, to build Petrobras’ initial eight FPSOs at Rio Grande Naval Pole in northeastern Brazil. The FPSO hulls will be delivered in 2013 while the others throughout 2014 and 2015. ECOVIX expects that all FPSO units come into operation in 2017. In August 2012, further contracts were awarded by offshore driller Sete Brasil to supply engineering, procurement and construction services of three new drill ships.