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Petrobas scandal hurts Odfjell

Oslo: Odfjell Drilling is afraid three awaited drillships will never be delivered, as the corruption scandal surrounding Brazilian energy conglomerate, Petrobras, continues to unravel, writes Norwegian paper Bergens Tidende.

“There is no doubt that this is problematic. We follow this very closely,” the company’s director of Communications, Gisle Johanson, told the newspaper.

Odfjell is a shareholder in three of the seven drillships to be built in  Jurong Aracruz shipyard in Brazil with 10% in each ship. Odfjell was guaranteed long-term contracts with Petrobras for delivery and operation of the ships.

In an update from DNB Markets who is quoting local media, the shipyard has not been paid, and is considering cancelling the construction of the seven planned drillships.

A $5bn loan payment to Petrobras was halted pending the investigation.

A week ago Sembcorp Marine said it was owed up to S$80m by Sete Brazil. A key part of Sembcorp Marine’s orderbook are the seven drillships, each worth about $800m, that Sete Brasil has ordered equating to roughly half of the Singapore yard’s total orderbook.

Hans Thaulow

Hans Henrik Thaulow is an Oslo-based journalist who has been covering the shipping industry for the last 15 years. As well as some work for the Informa Group, Hans was the China correspondent for TradeWinds. He also contributes to Maritime CEO magazine. Hans’ shipping background extends to working as a shipbroker trainee with Simpson, Spence & Young in Hong Kong.
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