Brazfels And Jurong Shipyards: Sete Brasil’s Drilling Schedule Faces New Delay Due To Pandemic

The Drama of Workers and the Brasfels and Jurong Shipyards Has No End

Drilling rigs that Sete Brasil sold to Magni Partners still depend on arrangements for contract closure, which has already caused layoffs and non-renewals of contracts at the Brasfels shipyard in Angra and may happen the same way at Jurong Aracruz, in ES.

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The COVID-19 Pandemic has just made another victim: the sale contract that Sete Brasil was celebrating with investor Magni Partners is momentarily suspended. The rigs depend on an integrity verification for the parties to finalize the deal valued at US$ 296 million.

In December 2019, Petrobras accepted Magni Partners’ offer for the four rigs, two drillships (“Arpoador” and “Guarapari”) under construction at the Jurong shipyard in Aracruz (ES) and two more (semisubmersibles “Urca” and “Frade”) at the Brasfels shipyard in Angra dos Reis (RJ). This offer had already been approved by the creditors’ assembly of Sete Brasil in October of the same year.

It is estimated that the pandemic will cause a 3-month delay in the shipyards’ schedule to finish the works. It was expected that in March the negotiations would have already been concluded and the contract signed, but now the new estimated date is June, with possibilities for a new postponement if social distancing measures continue. In Singapore, where most of the project is being executed, there are still access restrictions to shipyards and suppliers.

Jobs Impacted

The Brasfels shipyard in Angra dos Reis has already laid off workers this week and has already informed some employees that they will not have their temporary contracts renewed, with a clear impression that the cause is the uncertainty regarding the closing deadline of the entire transaction involving Petrobras, Sete Brasil, Magni Partners, and the shipyards involved in the works.

It is estimated that the works, once resumed, will create about 1000 jobs (at each shipyard) and last about 1 year.
It is worth remembering that Sete Brasil is going through a judicial recovery process and that Magni Partners, the winner of the bidding for the four rigs, due to lack of experience in operating this type of equipment, hired Etesco to operate them after Petrobras secured a 10-year charter contract with an excellent daily rate of US$ 299 thousand.