RIO DE JANIERO—Wärtsilä started 2017 with good news for its maritime activities in Brazil. The Finland-based company, which specializes in providing power generation solutions and services for ships and power plants, secured a 12-month contract renewal for operating Petrobras’ FPSO P-63 energy modules.

The contract, first signed in 2010, sealed a deal to supply the FPSO vessel with three main power modules. P-63 is the first FPSO vessel in the world to use gas engines to produce more than 100 MW of power. The vessel, operating in the Campos Basin’s Papa-Terra Field, has the capacity to produce 140,000 bbl/d of oil and compress 1 MMcm/d (35.3 MMcf/d) of gas.

“Only companies that have achieved trust in the sector are able to establish a business partnership with Petrobras and have their contracts renewed,” Wärtsilä Brasil Account Manager Ribamar Ramos said.

Yet, Wärtsilä wants to go further in doing business in Latin America’s largest country. According to Ramos, the company is working to take advantage of the giant Brazilian major’s intentions to tender for the Sépia and Libra FPSO units this year. “This tender will offer good opportunities for many companies in the offshore industry, Wärtsilä included,” Ramos said.

The Sépia and Libra oil fields are located in Santos Basin’s presalt layer. Libra, the first presalt field to be auctioned in Brazil, in 2013, has between 8 Bbbl and 12 Bbbl of recoverable oil, while Sépia is estimated to have roughly 130 MMbbl of recoverable oil.

The tender has not been scheduled yet, but some sources believe that the bidding process will be launched this year.

“Companies considering bidding on Petrobras FPSO [units] are already looking for solutions for those projects,” Ramos said, “so we are studying how we can meet their demands.”

Ramos explained that Wärtsilä is able to supply FPSO equipment produced in Brazil or overseas. This is because over the past 10 years the company invested in building facilities to take advantage of the local content policy.

In 2015 Wärtsilä inaugurated its first assembly plant and production unit for generator sets and azimuth thrusters in Brazil. The unit is located at the Açu Port, a giant logistics center built in the state of Rio de Janeiro. With 4,000 sq m (43,056 sq ft) of floor space, the unit will be able to receive up to 200 tons of equipment. This is Wärtsilä’s first ever multi-product factory. The unit received investments of 20 million euros (US$21 million).

In its initial phase, the factory’s activities will focus on midsize generators and azimuth thrusters, with the possibility of expanding the product portfolio according to market needs.

“This unit helps to give Wärtsilä a leading market position within the industry in which we operate,” Wärtsilä Ship Power Division Director Luiz Barcellos said.

The Brazilian offshore sector still holds a strategic role for the company, Barcellos said. With the Brazilian government’s latest moves to resume oil and gas investments, the Wärtsilä director foresees good medium- and long-term opportunities.

“The upcoming licensing rounds are very important for our business. We have the expertise in supplying main generating engines and thrusters for FPSO [units] and drillships. Most pipelay support vessels—PLSVs—operating in Brazil were supplied with our products,” Barcellos said, adding that Subsea 7, Technip, Queiroz Galvão E&P and Sapura Crest Petroleum Bhd vessels have Wärtsilä’s generators and thrusters.

The director also emphasized the importance of having a new schedule for vessel construction plans in Brazil to improve predictability for industry players. “Not only the auctions and other government plans are needed but also a schedule program for vessels construction in Brazil as we had years ago in the county,” Barcellos said. “It helps the supply chain companies to plan their investments.”

—Brunno Braga