Brazil starts manufacturing land rigs
Valor Econômico
Until the end of the year, Brazil will begin the serial manufacturing of oil exploration rigs used in land drilling. The responsible for the endeavor is the Brasfond group, whose plant, in Guarulhos (SP), will have capacity to manufacture one piece of equipment a month. The goal is to meet, mainly, the demand of Petrobras. "Since the Government has warned it will prioritize local content, it is a great opportunity for us", says Nicola Libano, President and owner of the group that wants to turn the company into the main supplier of this sort of rig in the country. According to the company, the rigs produced in Brazil so far are mostly made of imported parts and the companies of the segment work as makers. In Brasbauer, the equipment will also have pieces from abroad, but it will have at least 75% of the so-called national content. "This is the first time rigs will be produced, most of it, here", he says.
After € 20 million invested in prototypes in Germany, the rigs will start being produced between August and September, according to Libano. To have the technology required for the manufacturing, the group formed a joint venture in May 2009 with the German Bauer, which works on excavations and manufacture of machinery for the market. "We will have a significant transfer of technology", he says. The model to be made in Brazil is the TBA-100, which costs nearly US$ 2.5 million and reaches up to 2 thousand meters of depth. "Considering that nearly 85% of land wells in the country are up to 1.5 meters deep, there is great opportunity for the product in the domestic market", he points out. Today, Petrobras has 124 land drilling and production rigs and it is interested in increasing the fleet.
In Brazil, the President reveals it is in contact with HRT Oil & Gas and Petra Energia, which research opportunities for oil exploration in the Amazon. The oil business, according to Libano, already generate almost half of the nearly R$ 200 million (US$ 113.6 million) of the earnings of Brasfond last year - by means of the construction, for instance, of works of underground engineering for the market, such as the Taubaté-Caraguatatuba Pipeline, in the interior of São Paulo.
But the earnings of the Brasfond group do not come only from oil and gas. It also has three other companies operating in Brazil: Brasfond, of foundations of works; BrasFix, intended for foundations of maritime and river works; and BTC, construction of tunnels. With strategic clients, like Odebrecht, the companies of the group operate in many infrastructure works, such as the Port of Suape (in Pernambuco), the Hydroelectric Power Plant of Peixe Angical (in Tocantis), besides the Barra Subway and the Transcarioca Road (in Rio de Janeiro).