Synergy to build $850m Brazil shipyard
The Synergy group, controlled by Bolivian-born Brazilian-Colombian entrepreneur German Efromovich, has unveiled plans to invest $850m in the north-east of Brazil to create the largest shipyard in the Americas.
With one eye on a contract to build up to seven drillships from Petrobras and the other on the construction of very large ore carriers for Brazilian iron ore giant, Vale, the yard will be built on an area of 2m sq m close to the port of Maceio.
Mr Efromovich told Lloyd’s List that a contract was signed between the group and the state government of Alagoas last week and finance is due to be approved by the Brazilian merchant marine fund (FMM) later this month.
“Petrobas is investing tonnes of money and there are opportunities for the shipbuilding industry,” said Mr Efromovich.
“In our case we run two shipyards in Rio de Janeiro – Maua and EISA - and we signed last week to build a new shipyard in Alagoas 2m sq m and 6,000 employees it will be the biggest yard in Latin America,” he said.
“The yard will be versatile we will be able to do anything building up to very large crude carriers and very large ore carriers,” he said.
Mr Efromovich said Maceio was selected ahead of locations due to a combination of factors including favourable tax breaks offered by the Alagoas state government.
“First we have to give opportunities to develop states where people need jobs to develop,” he said. “Alagoas is a very poor state. Second the location that we found was the perfect location and third the conditions that the government gave us were very convenient.”
Synergy Group – which also owns Colombian airline, Avianca - is one of a handful of powerful Brazilian economic groups competing for Petrobras business without a tie-up with a foreign partner.
Maua’s links with Singaporean rig specialist Jurong were terminated in 2007 after the yard became embroiled in an investigation into fraud involving contracts to maintain and repair Petrobras-owned oil platforms.
Since then the Synergy Group’s two yards have preferred to compete for contracts without an international partner. Last year it was awarded a $468m contract to build four panamax tankers for Petrobas’ shipping and logistics subsidiary Transpetro. Maua was awarded a contract to build four product carriers for the group at a cost of $277m in November 2007.
Mr Efromovich said Synergy had so far not seen the need to team up with any of the foreign companies seeking to get involved in the bidding for Petrobras’ drillship order at the group’s proposed mega-yard.
Of the first lot, seven vessel-type units will be built based on consolidated technologies widely used in the global market and constructed in a single shipyard. The first unit is due to be ready in 2013 with all 28 units to be operational by 2018. They will be used to begin exploration of Petrobras’ pre-salt oil fields off the coast of Santos and Espirito Santo.
South Korean yards including Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Singaporean specialists are all in the hunt for the business.
Approval for funding for Estaleiro EIsa de Alagoas is nearly in place with the FMM, the government entity established to promote the development of the country’s shipbuilding industry, said Mr Efromovich.
“So far we are on our own we are preparing to get finance. A big chunk of that is guaranteed. The FMM is ruling next week and we are expecting the maximum 90%,” he said.
“We will see if we need a foreign partner. We are open to that but so far we are alone,” he said.
Mr Efromovich said he was optimistic that all yards in the group would be able to bid for the lucrative drillship contract to be launched by Petrobras this week.
Petrobras director of services, Renato Duque, said earlier this month that the Maua shipyard would not be invited to participate in the bid for the drillships due to an ongoing investigation into alleged kickbacks paid to Petrobras directors awarding contracts for the maintenance of oil platforms.
“I think there is something that happened many years ago that had nothing to do with the shipyard, its board of directors or its shareholders,” he said.
“We don’t believe that Petrobras cannot see that and that Petrobras will punish 5,000 employees for something that in the end [their employees] were responsible for,” he said.
With one eye on a contract to build up to seven drillships from Petrobras and the other on the construction of very large ore carriers for Brazilian iron ore giant, Vale, the yard will be built on an area of 2m sq m close to the port of Maceio.
Mr Efromovich told Lloyd’s List that a contract was signed between the group and the state government of Alagoas last week and finance is due to be approved by the Brazilian merchant marine fund (FMM) later this month.
“Petrobas is investing tonnes of money and there are opportunities for the shipbuilding industry,” said Mr Efromovich.
“In our case we run two shipyards in Rio de Janeiro – Maua and EISA - and we signed last week to build a new shipyard in Alagoas 2m sq m and 6,000 employees it will be the biggest yard in Latin America,” he said.
“The yard will be versatile we will be able to do anything building up to very large crude carriers and very large ore carriers,” he said.
Mr Efromovich said Maceio was selected ahead of locations due to a combination of factors including favourable tax breaks offered by the Alagoas state government.
“First we have to give opportunities to develop states where people need jobs to develop,” he said. “Alagoas is a very poor state. Second the location that we found was the perfect location and third the conditions that the government gave us were very convenient.”
Synergy Group – which also owns Colombian airline, Avianca - is one of a handful of powerful Brazilian economic groups competing for Petrobras business without a tie-up with a foreign partner.
Maua’s links with Singaporean rig specialist Jurong were terminated in 2007 after the yard became embroiled in an investigation into fraud involving contracts to maintain and repair Petrobras-owned oil platforms.
Since then the Synergy Group’s two yards have preferred to compete for contracts without an international partner. Last year it was awarded a $468m contract to build four panamax tankers for Petrobas’ shipping and logistics subsidiary Transpetro. Maua was awarded a contract to build four product carriers for the group at a cost of $277m in November 2007.
Mr Efromovich said Synergy had so far not seen the need to team up with any of the foreign companies seeking to get involved in the bidding for Petrobras’ drillship order at the group’s proposed mega-yard.
Of the first lot, seven vessel-type units will be built based on consolidated technologies widely used in the global market and constructed in a single shipyard. The first unit is due to be ready in 2013 with all 28 units to be operational by 2018. They will be used to begin exploration of Petrobras’ pre-salt oil fields off the coast of Santos and Espirito Santo.
South Korean yards including Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Singaporean specialists are all in the hunt for the business.
Approval for funding for Estaleiro EIsa de Alagoas is nearly in place with the FMM, the government entity established to promote the development of the country’s shipbuilding industry, said Mr Efromovich.
“So far we are on our own we are preparing to get finance. A big chunk of that is guaranteed. The FMM is ruling next week and we are expecting the maximum 90%,” he said.
“We will see if we need a foreign partner. We are open to that but so far we are alone,” he said.
Mr Efromovich said he was optimistic that all yards in the group would be able to bid for the lucrative drillship contract to be launched by Petrobras this week.
Petrobras director of services, Renato Duque, said earlier this month that the Maua shipyard would not be invited to participate in the bid for the drillships due to an ongoing investigation into alleged kickbacks paid to Petrobras directors awarding contracts for the maintenance of oil platforms.
“I think there is something that happened many years ago that had nothing to do with the shipyard, its board of directors or its shareholders,” he said.
“We don’t believe that Petrobras cannot see that and that Petrobras will punish 5,000 employees for something that in the end [their employees] were responsible for,” he said.