Transpetro Launches Tender for Eight Gas Tankers
Transpetro, a unit of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, has launched an international tender to contract eight gas tankers and expects to launch 13 others by the end of next year, Chief Executive Sergio Bacci said at an event on Monday.
Transpetro, a unit of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, has launched an international tender to contract eight gas tankers and expects to launch 13 others by the end of next year, Chief Executive Sergio Bacci said at an event on Monday.
The tenders are part of ongoing plans to renew Transpetro's fleet while boosting the country's shipbuilding sector, a priority for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The vessels are part of a group of 25 new ships, with 16 already listed in Petrobras' strategic plan for the 2025-2029 period and four commissioned to local shipyards in a December deal.
"We can compete with the engineering of anywhere in the world," Lula said in a speech at the event in Angra dos Reis, a shipbuilding hub in Rio de Janeiro state, defending local industry and praising Petrobras.
The oil giant's chief executive, Magda Chambriard, said the firm also aims to use Brazilian shipyards to renew old vessels, instead of retiring them, bringing jobs to the region.
Petrobras will also hire 44 more vessels by the end of 2026, with "many more" coming by 2029, said Chambriard.
Once delivered, the eight vessels are set to triple Transpetro's capacity to transport liquefied petroleum gas and allow it to move ammonia, said Transpetro, adding that the tender takes into account higher gas production in the country.
"With these contracts, we will increase the number of ships in our gas tanker fleet from six to 14, increasing transport capacity from 36,000 to up to 108,000 cubic meters," Bacci said.