The drama of workers and shipyards Brasfels and Jurong has no end

Rigs that Sete Brasil sold to Magni Partners still depend on agreements to close the contract, which has already caused layoffs and non-renewals of contracts at the Brasfels shipyard, in Angra, and the same could happen at Jurong Aracruz, in ES.

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The COVID-19 Pandemic has just taken yet another victim: the sales contract that Sete Brasil was celebrating with the investor Magni Partners is momentarily suspended. The rigs depend on an integrity check so that the parties can complete the deal valued at US$ 296 million.

In December 2019, Petrobras accepted Magni Partners' offer for the four rigs, two drillships ("Arpoador" and "Guarapari" drillships) under construction at the Jurong shipyard, in Aracruz (ES) and two others (semi-submersibles "Urca" and " Frade”) at the Brasfels shipyard in Angra dos Reis (RJ). This offer had already been approved by the meeting of Sete Brasil's creditors in October of the same year.

It is estimated that the pandemic will cause a delay of 3 months in the shipyards' schedule to finish the works. It was expected that in March the negotiations would have ended and the contract already signed, but now the new estimated date is June, with possibilities for a further postponement if the social isolation measures continue. In Singapore, where most of the project is being carried out, there are still restrictions on access to shipyards and suppliers.

Impacted jobs

The Brasfels shipyard, in Angra dos Reis, has already made layoffs this week and has already announced to some employees that they will not have their temporary contract renewed and there is a clear impression that the cause would be the lack of definition for the deadline for closing 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 around 1000 more jobs (in each shipyard) and will last around 1 year.
It is worth remembering that Sete Brasil is going through a judicial recovery process and that Magni Partners, winner of the tender for the four rigs, for not having experience in operating this type of equipment, hired Etesco to operate them after Petrobras secured a contract 10-year charter with an excellent daily rate of US$ 299.