en.Wedoany.com Reported - Karine Fragoso, General Manager of Oil, Gas, Energy, and Shipbuilding at the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan), stated on the 4th that Brazil's domestic industry is now capable of resuming the supply of modules for Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, and has made progress in equipment integration and commissioning services.
Fragoso recalled that between 2005 and 2015, local Brazilian suppliers participated in the aforementioned segments of the FPSO industry chain. However, over the past decade, Brazilian companies lost this space due to factors such as tax issues, changes in Petrobras' management approach, and the rise of China in this market. She noted that some modules can already be contracted in Brazil, and efforts are currently underway to bring the integration and commissioning phases of the modules back to the country.
FPSO modules are metal structures installed on the upper deck, also known as topside modules, with the main modules including fluid separation, gas compression, and water injection modules. Fragoso pointed out that Petrobras alone has a future demand of 250,000 tons for topside modules, and the company has demonstrated a clear stance on raising the minimum local content requirement, generating positive expectations in the market.
She believes that if the integration phase achieves "re-localization," it can act as a magnet to attract module manufacturing domestically. Building modules locally, along with integration and commissioning, can eliminate the transportation time of shipping abroad and back, while extending the module construction timeline. Currently, Brazil's domestic industry is capable of completing detailed design locally, offering competitive prices, shortening lead times, and introducing the equipment installation phase.
Fragoso emphasized that the post-COVID-19 context, compounded by current geopolitical instability, presents a favorable opportunity for the country's industry to develop local construction and installation capabilities, ensure supply security, and reduce inflationary risks.
