Japan's Modec eyes major Brazil oil platform contracts -executive

Modec

14/01/2020 16:06

By Marta Nogueira
    RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Japanese floating
equipment maker Modec Inc  6269.T  is looking to win one or two
major platform contracts per year in Brazil as it aims to grow
in the country's offshore oil boom, a senior executive told
Reuters. 
    A string of contracts in recent years has made Brazil a key
market for the firm, Soichi Ide, Modec's chief digital officer
and vice-president of operations for Latin America and Ghana,
said from his office in Rio de Janeiro.
    "There are no other locations like Brazil, where we can
really keep producing in new areas. That's not happening
anywhere in the world, only in Brazil," Ide said.
    His comments underscore the offshore industry's enthusiasm
for Brazilian pre-salt discoveries, where billions of barrels of
oil are trapped beneath a layer of salt under the ocean floor —
even after weak demand in recent auctions.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N27N25Q
    Modec sees global oil majors in Brazil and state-run oil
firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as Petrobras  PETR4.SA , will
need some 20 to 30 platforms in the next five years, Ide said.
    Globally, the company has 18 platforms in Latin America,
Africa, Asia and the Pacific. In Brazil since 2003, its floating
equipment accounts for 35% of the country's pre-salt production.
    Modec has a total of 11 platforms in Brazil's pre-salt and
conventional areas, with four platforms under construction.
    The company plans to hire some 800 employees in Brazil in
2020, a 35% rise from current levels, Ide said.

 (Reporting by Marta Nogueira 
Writing by Ana Mano
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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