Petrobras and Mitsubishi join forces
Japan’s Mitsubishi and Brazilian state-run Petrobras will build an $830 million ship to drill in deep seas for crude oil and natural gas.
The vessel would be capable of drilling in ocean depths of 3000 metres (9843 feet), Mitsubishi said in a statement on its Web site.
A South Korean shipbuilder has been chosen to build the vessel, a Mitsubishi spokesman said, declining to name it.
A joint venture between Mitsubishi and Petrobras will own and operate the vessel, to be completed in June next year, according to a Bloomberg report.
Petrobras will use the new ship at its deep-sea oil and gas reserves at home and abroad, Mitsubishi said in the statement.
Japan’s government in 2005 built the 60 billion yen (US$656 million) deep-sea drilling ship named “Chikyu,” meaning the earth, to study the geological structure under the sea bed. Chikyu is able to drill 7000 metres below the ocean floor in depths of 2500 metres.
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding built the body of the Chikyu while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries made drilling tools