Aker Solutions has signed a frame agreement with Petrobras to supply 40 subsea trees for the Iara and Guará fields, located in the challenging pre-salt area of the Santos basin offshore Brazil. Contract value is approximately USD 300 million.

Scope of works includes engineering and manufacturing of 40 vertical subsea trees for 2 500 metres water depth, subsea control systems and 17 complete tool sets. Delivery will take place over the next four years.

With this latest contract for Iara and Guará, Aker Solutions will provide subsea production equipment for all the three initial field developments of the Brazilian pre-salt area. The first pre-salt subsea job was awarded in December 2008, when Aker Solutions won a contract to supply nine subsea trees for the Tupi pilot project.

"Our experience developing the Tupi pilot project, the expanded manufacturing capacity at our facility in Curitiba and a consistent commercial and technical proposal were crucial to secure this contract. This evidence is aligned with our objective of being Petrobras' preferred partner for subsea developments," says Marcelo Taulois, president of Aker Solutions' subsea business in Brazil.

Mads Andersen, executive vice president of Aker Solutions, also highlighted Aker Solutions' market leading deepwater technology as another decisive factor in winning this contract.

"In recent years, Aker Solutions has made significant investments in Brazil - both in developing suitable deepwater technologies and our manufacturing capacity. Our current dominance in the pre-salt area is also down to a highly qualified workforce which is dedicated to meeting the future demand of the Brazilian oil industry. Our company is well prepared to help Petrobras explore the pre-salt layer," says Mads Andersen.

The Guara field (BM-S-9) will receive 14 trees of this contract, and will be explored by a consortium where Petrobras has 45% participation, BG Group has 30% and Repsol YPF 25%. The Iara field (BM-S-11) which belongs to Petrobras (65%), BG Group (25%) and Petrogal (10%), will receive 26 trees.

The complete scope of work will be managed, engineered and executed by Aker Solutions' manufacturing facility in Curitiba, Brazil, with support from Aberdeen, UK, for the subsea control systems. Delivery of the first subsea tree is scheduled for the end of 2011.

Aker Solutions has built up a significant presence in Brazil since establishing the company in the country in 1978. Today Aker Solutions has 850 employees in Brazil, of which 99 percent are Brazilian nationals. In addition to being the market leader in the pre-salt area for subsea equipment and services, Aker Solutions delivers downstream and topsides process technology, deepwater drilling systems and offshore installation services. As examples of the latter, Aker Solutions recently deployed the buoys for the Statoil Peregrino development offshore Brazil, and the deepwater installation vessel Skandi Santos is currently operating for Petrobras on a five-year contract to install subsea equipment.