October 14, 2008

Petrobras to buy plates from Usiminas for oil platform

Business daily Valor Econômico reported that Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas has closed a deal to supply 31,000 tonnes of heavy plates to federal energy company Petrobras.

As per report Petrobras will use the heavy plates to manufacture the P56 oil platform, with delivery slated to start in January in shipments of 3,000 tonne per month. Shipyard Kepel Fels in Rio de Janeiro state will be in charge of the platform construction. The deal’s value was not disclosed.

Usiminas plans to enter the competition next year to supply heavy plates for other Petrobras platforms such as P57 and P55. Other steelmakers in Brazil including Gerdau and CSN have unveiled plans to start production of heavy plates.