Mitsubishi targets Latin American market for FPSO compressors

MHI Compressor do Brasil Ltda. (MCO-B) held an opening ceremony on September 21 in Piracicaba, in São Paulo state, Brazil, to mark the launch of full-scale operations.

MCO-B is a Brazilian joint venture (JV) established by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation (MCO), a Hiroshima-based Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC).

Plans call for MCO-B to develop the Latin American market for compressors, with a focus on expanding sales of compressors for use on Floating Production, Storage and Offloading systems (FPSO), a market expected to see robust demand as Brazil develops deepwater oil fields, Mitsubishi explained in a press statement on Friday.

Initially, the JV will work to strengthen its sales and after-sale servicing functions, to be followed by the beginning of local manufacturing in the near future.

According to the company, the opening ceremony was attended by a large number of stakeholders including MCO President Hiroaki Osaki and guests. Guests included the Japanese Consul General in São Paulo, the mayor of Piracicaba, and representatives of major local and overseas clients and engineering firms such as Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), and Braskem S.A.

MCO-B was established in March 2016 with MCO and MC having respective ownership stakes of 70% and 30%. The head office is located within a factory operated by NG Metalúrgica Ltda. (NGM), a Brazilian machinery manufacturer in a business tie-up with MCO. Preparations have been under way here since April toward launching operations on the full scale.

MCO-B has a sales office in Rio de Janeiro staffed by employees who previously handled compressor operations at two MHI and MC affiliates headquartered in São Paulo city: Mitsubishi Indústrias Pesadas do Brasil Ltda. and Mitsubishi Corporation do Brasil, S.A.

The opening ceremony was carried out in conjunction with the announcement of the start of full-fledged operations following the completion of preparation of sales and after-sale servicing structures manned by a total staff of 11. Going forward, collaboration with NGM, which performs some local assembly operations for orders placed for use within Brazil, will be further expanded, and maintenance, repair, and other after-sale servicing functions will be strengthened to enable a swift response to customer needs.

Today, Petrobras is undertaking a project exploring for oil in Brazil’s offshore pre-salt layer. Mitsubishi stated that, over the long term, together with the broader Latin American market, considerable demand is expected for FPSOs, systems that require multiple compressors for gas compression, transportation, processing, etc.

The newly inaugurated MCO-B will also work closely with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor International Corporation (MCO-I), a Houston-based Group company that serves as a core manufacturing base for MCO in the Americas.