Aker Solutions Drilling Risers Facility in Brazil

The state of art facility in Rio das Ostras completes two years of operation with excellent results and having made a lasting contribution to the region and to regional supplier chain growth.

The facility which was built in Rio das Ostras with an initial investment of around $10 million in 2007 and primarily manufactures for the Brazilian market, has also been able to deliver to other regions of the world. The facility, which has a workshop that covers a space of 2,450 square metres, offers clients services ranging from engineering and manufacturing to maintenance and technical support.

The timing of the Rio das Ostras investment was just right as it not only helped the economic growth of the region but was already in operation when many Petrobras deepwater riser contracts were starting to be bidded and other players were also developing deepwater plays.

The Aker drilling riser system is developed to cover all deepwater needs, which is perfect for many deepwater field developments in Brazil.

At the time Aker already had a manufacturing facility for subsea trees and other subsea equipment in Curitiba, as well as a subsea aftermarket base in Rio das Ostras.

The facility creates jobs for over 200 workers and has been slowly expanding along the years, having also helped to develop a local supplier chain which has had a tremendous growth in the last three years, creating even more local jobs and raising the standards of the workforce.

The deepwater marine drilling riser systems manufactured at Rio das Ostras are all of the Clip Connector technology, which is exclusive to Aker Solutions. This technology offers significant time savings when connecting the riser joints, therefore offering rig operators significant costs reductions by needing less manpower and  less rig operations.

The first operations at the Rio das Ostras drilling riser facility started up in January 2008 and from then on has delivered a substancial amount of drill risers to various companies mainly involved with deepwater drilling in the Brazilian play.

Along with the risers Aker Solutions also offers excellent aftermarket support, including installation support to operators, tools for installation and maintenance and excellent service personnel, being considered a complete riser system provider.

In the 3 quarter of 2010 Aker Solutions will be delivering a deepwater drilling riser system for the Alpha Star rig which will be able to operate in depths of up to 2,700 meters in Brazil and abroad at a contract value of $55 million. At least another three drill riser projects are currently underway at the Rio das Ostras facility.

Claudio Paschoa

Photo courtesy of Aker Solutions