Petrobras project delays cost Aker up to $88m
12 Oct 2011
Oslo — Aker Solutions has agreed to pay damages to Petrobras for continuing delays on all major subsea projects with the group. The additional costs and potential future liquidated damages to Petrobras are expected to be in the range of NOK400 - 500 million ($70-88 million).
Reviews are being carried out to verify the cost estimates and to ensure that all of the risks and opportunities for improvement have been fully quantified, said the Norwegian group..
“We have a close dialogue with our customer Petrobras and we appreciate their constructive response to our difficult situation. Together we are exploring ways to minimise the consequences of our delays,” said Øyvind Eriksen, Executive Chairman of Aker Solutions ASA.
“Our performance is hampered by high activity in Brazil. Suppliers to the oil industry in the region are facing lack of resources. But parts of the reason for our delays are also very specific to Aker Solutions and our manufacturing site in Curitiba,” Eriksen explained.
The revised plans are being prepared by a new management of the subsea business area and the local team in Brazil, with support from a multidisciplinary task force from other parts of Aker Solutions.
Top qualified project management and project control resources are being brought in to Curitiba to tighten control of projects, the group added. A recruitment campaign is to further strengthen the company’s engineering capacity in Brazil, and training and improvement of skills within the Brazilian organisation will be a central activity.
Several initiatives are being taken to increase capacity in assembly and testing, and new suppliers of critical components are qualified and taken into use, after consultation with Petrobras.
“We are deeply frustrated that we again disappoint our customer and investors, but our entire team in Curitiba, the new Subsea management and the task force mobilised from other parts of Aker Solutions deserve recognition. They have undertaken a thorough review of the situation. They have provided us with credible facts in a spirit of openness and transparency. We now have a deeper understanding of what we need to do to deliver. A lot of hard work remains,” Eriksen stated.
Nevertheless, Aker Solutions said it is continuing its expansion into other parts of the Brazilian offshore industry. In addition to the continuing investments into the Curitiba production facilities, further investments are being considered at its Rio das Ostras service base for drilling and subsea systems.
This is also the manufacturing and assembly site for deepwater clip-joint drilling risers. Aker Solutions will also be expanding its engineering and process systems businesses in Rio de Janeiro.
