Petrobras and its logistics subsidiary Transpetro on Tuesday signed contracts with shipyards for five gas carriers, 18 barges and 18 tugs, for 2.8 billion reais ($520 million).
The companies made the deal official at an event in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has prioritized boosting the country's shipbuilding sector, attended the ceremony.
A shipyard in Rio Grande do Sul will build the five tankers, representing 2.2 billion reais of the deal, to carry liquefied petroleum gas and derivatives, according to a statement from Petrobras.
Two of the tankers will have a capacity of 14,000 cubic metres, while the other three will be able to transport 7,000 cubic metres each, it said.
The first gas tanker will be delivered within 33 months after construction begins, with new deliveries every six months, the state-run firm added.
Shipyards in two other Brazilian states will build the remaining barges and tugs, and Transpetro will operate all ships.
"With these contracts, we are preparing Petrobras for the growth of our production in the coming years and boosting the recovery of the national shipbuilding industry," Petrobras Chief Executive Officer Magda Chambriard said in the statement.
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Additional reporting and writing by Fernando Cardoso in Sao Paulo; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
