ABB to Provide Electrical Systems for Drill Ships in Brazil

ZURICH, Switzerland (Feb. 7, 2013) – ABB has won orders worth $160 million from Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd. for the design, supply, supervision of installation, testing and commissioning of the main electrical systems for seven next generation drill ships that will operate in the deep water oil and gas fields off the coast of Brazil. The orders were booked in the fourth quarter of last year and first quarter of this year.
The ships will be used to drill wells in the enormous offshore pre-salt fields off the southeast coast of Brazil. ABB’s integrated electrical package will provide a reliable power supply to subsystems onboard ships and help the operators maximize their energy efficiency.

The seven vessels are the first in a series of high-efficiency drill ships designed for ultra-deep water operations and built by Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz at their shipyard on the central eastern coast of Espirito Santo, Brazil. It is a wholly-owned shipyard of the Jurong Shipyard based in Singapore.

“ABB’s ability to provide locally produced content for this project and the expertise of our local organization were important factors in winning this order. This represents a breakthrough for ABB in the Brazilian market,” said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, Head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “ABB has a great record of project execution for similar projects with Jurong’s shipyard in Singapore; the trust achieved over time with the shipyard was crucial for us in closing this agreement.”

ABB’s scope of supply includes complete electrical systems including generators, distribution switchboards, transformers, drives and motors to power the ships’ thrusters and drilling systems. All ABB solutions meet or exceed IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and the customer’s standards for safety, and are in full compliance with strict IMO (International Maritime Organization) regulations to ensure uninterrupted drilling operations.

Equipment deliveries to the shipyard are scheduled for 2013, with the first vessel to be delivered to the ship-owner in the second quarter of 2015.

The ships will be delivered to Sete Brazil, a company established in 2010 by various Brazilian and international investors. On delivery, the seven drill-ships will be chartered to Petrobras for 15 years. Three of the ships will be partially owned and operated for Petrobras by Odfjell and three by Seadrill, both Norwegian based companies.

ABB is a power and automation technology company that enables utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.