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HONG
KONG—Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world’s biggest
maker of drill ships, received a 739.2-billion won ($709
million) order for a deep-water vessel from a South
American customer as demand expands for oil exploration.
The
vessel will be delivered by January 31, 2012, the
Seoul-based company said in a regulatory filing Monday,
without naming the buyer.
Record
oil prices and depleting reserves in shallower waters
are prompting companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and
Royal Dutch Shell Plc. to spend a record $98.7 billion
on exploration and production this year. Petroleo
Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company,
plans to invest $30 billion for 40 drilling rigs to
develop a field off its coast.
Samsung
Heavy, the world’s second-biggest shipbuilder, has won
$10.1 billion in orders this year, with drill vessels
accounting for half of the contracts. That helped the
shipbuilder achieve 65 percent of its annual target of
$15.5 billion and increased its backlog to about $47
billion.
Petroleo
Brasileiro, or Petrobras, has leased about 80 percent of
the world’s deepest-drilling offshore rigs for drilling
the Tupi field, which is expected to start in April
2009. Tupi, located in the Santos Basin southeast of São
Paulo, may hold enough oil to supply every refinery on
the US East Coast for 15 years.
Meanwhile, STX Shipbuilding Co., the owner of Europe’s
biggest yard, said it received a 122.3-billion won ($117
million) order for two bulk carriers from Europe as
demand increases for moving coal and iron ore.
The
vessels will be delivered by April 30, 2011, the Jinhae,
South Korea-based company said in a regulatory filing
Monday, without naming the buyer.
South
Korean shipbuilders are adding new docks and yards
outside the country as they work on backlogs stretching
into 2012. STX Shipbuilding, which started its China
shipyard in April, plans to invest in Vietnam and
Azerbaijan.
With
today’s deal, STX Shipbuilding has received about $3
billion worth of orders this year, increasing its
backlog to more than $17 billion. STX Shipbuilding and
STX Engine Co., both units of STX Group, own 40.4
percent of Oslo-based Aker Yards ASA, and are preparing
to bid for the rest.
Forward-freight agreements, financial instruments used
to bet on future commodity-shipping prices, advanced.
Contracts for capesize vessels for July-September
climbed 4.4 percent to $158,125 a day, prices from
Oslo-based broker Imarex NOS ASA showed. Contracts for
panamax ships during the period rose 4.2 percent to
$74,000 a day. (Bloomberg) |
