Aker Solutions has formally opened its new subsea plant in Curitiba, Brazil. The plant will employ about 850 people and is dedicated to machining, welding, surface treatment, assembly and testing of christmas trees and other subsea equipment. It will provide the first subsea control systems manufacturing capability in Brazil. The plant, located in the city of São José dos Pinhais, will double the company’s production capacity in the country. It is part of a global delivery model with subsea execution hubs in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe and will support customers both in and outside of Brazil. Aker Solutions also is upgrading its subsea services unit in Rio das Ostras.

The opening of the new plant comes after Aker Solutions secured a deal to provide maintenance and other services for subsea facilities at Petrobras-operated oil and gas fields offshore Brazil.

The three-year contract is worth $120 million and may be extended by another three years. It covers maintenance, storage, supply of parts and technical assistance for all subsea equipment delivered by Aker Solutions to Petrobras in Brazil.

Aker Solutions is set to open a new subsea manufacturing centre in April in Curitiba, doubling its local production capacity. The company also is upgrading its subsea services unit in Rio das Ostras to better meet customer demand.

The agreement is similar to one signed in 2011 for maintenance of equipment and other offshore services. Currently, Aker Solutions’ subsea life-cycle services unit has about 360 employees in Brazil, of which 150 are part of the technical team working offshore. The company has about 1,300 employees in the country.

Aker Solutions has since 1997 delivered more than two-thirds of 290 subsea trees ordered for Petrobras-operated offshore oil and gas fields in Brazil. About 200 of these have been installed.

“The facility will build on and strengthen our nearly four-decade presence in Brazil, which is a key global offshore market with significant deepwater and subsea potential,” Aker Solutions’ CEO Luis Araujo said. “It reinforces our commitment to developing local competence and working with our customers to create long-term value in this major oil and gas province.”