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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Olympia, to be leased by state energy major Petrobras, is an innovative multi-service vessel destined for Brazil’s most important offshore zone, the Campos Basin
Deal is latest major Milbank transaction for Brazil offshore and Latin American oil/gas sector
NEW YORK, January 29, 2014 – Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has represented international lenders Mizuho Bank, Ltd. and Itaú BBA International plc in providing approximately $150 million in financing for the purchase of an innovative compact semi-submersible multi-service vessel destined for Brazil’s most productive offshore oil and gas location.
The support unit, named Olympia, represents a ground breaking new vessel design, which suppliers believe will change the long term landscape of the offshore vessel market. It was developed to help increase production in Brazil’s Campos Basin, source of some 80% of the country’s substantial oil reserves. DP-3 rated, meaning it has redundant systems designed to hold it in place in virtually all weather and sea conditions, the 276-foot (84.25 meters) craft was built in Fujian Province in southern China and holds up to 500 people.
Olympia is the first of a group of three sister vessels ordered by Rio-based oil and gas firm GranEnergia and will be leased to state-owned energy major Petrobras. Olympia is part of Petrobras’s $5.6 billion program to increase operating efficiency in the Campos Basin, a 44,000-square-mile area off the coast north of Rio de Janeiro. The vessel, whose primary function is to act as a floating accommodation unit for rig personnel, will begin operating in the Campos Basin in the second quarter of 2014.
New York-based project finance partner Daniel Bartfeld led the Milbank deal team, which included London-based partner James Cameron, and associates Fernando Capellão, Russell King and Caroline Rasmussen. Milbank has previously advised on the financing of a new fleet of deepwater drillships produced in South Korea that are also on the frontlines of Brazil’s burgeoning offshore oil recovery sector.
“We’re delighted to participate in this important financing for a new generation of advanced support and maintenance vessels for the Campos Basin, site of significant ongoing investment by Petrobras,” Mr. Bartfeld said. “The Olympia is one part of a larger effort to increase productivity and efficiency in this mature drilling area, which, despite challenging conditions, remains Brazil’s most productive offshore oil field.”
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy is a leading international law firm that has been providing innovative legal solutions to clients throughout the world for more than 145 years. Milbank is headquartered in New York and has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, DC.
The firm’s lawyers provide a full range of legal services to the world’s leading commercial, financial and industrial enterprises, as well as to institutions, individuals and governments. Milbank’s lawyers meet the needs of its clients by offering a highly integrated and collaborative range of services across key practice groups throughout its global network. Milbank’s integrated practice is underpinned by its attorneys’ acknowledged technical excellence, sectorial expertise and a strong tradition of innovation and client service.
Milbank's Latin America Practice Group is one of the most successful and diverse in the region. In four of the past five years, Milbank has been named the Top Project Finance Law Firm in Latin America by Chambers. The group’s attorneys have advised clients on some of the largest and most innovative transactions across the Americas, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru. Attorneys in the group specialize in securities, M&A, project finance, private placements, litigation & arbitration.
