MODEC, Inc., Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. and Marubeni Corporation have agreed that Mitsui, MOL and Marubeni will invest in a long-term charter business operated by MODEC for the purpose of providing a floating production, storage, and offloading system (“the FPSO,”) for use in the Cernambi Sul area of a pre-salt oil field off the coast of Brazil. Documents to this effect were signed today.

Under this agreement, Mitsui, MOL and Marubeni will invest in Cernambi Sul MV24 B.V. (MV24), a Dutch company established by MODEC. MV24 has signed a long-term chartering agreement with Tupi B.V., a Dutch company owned by PETROBRAS NETHERLANDS B.V. (65%), BG OVERSEAS HOLDING LTD. (25%), and GALP ENERGIA E&P BRASIL B.V.(10%). The FPSO will be chartered to Tupi B.V. for 20 years.

Construction of the FPSO will involve the conversion of a VLCC (very large crude oil carrier), which will be renamed “FPSO Cidade de Mangaratiba MV24.” It will be deployed to the Cernambi Sul area of the BM-S-11 block off the coast of Brazil in the third quarter of 2014. The area is part of a deepwater oil field located about 300 km south of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The oil is contained in the pre-salt layer about 5,000 m beneath the seabed.

MODEC and Mitsui have already provided two FPSOs for the pre-salt oil field, and this will be their third pre-salt related FPSO chartering project. It is the second project of its type for MOL and the first for Marubeni. The Schahin Group, which was the joint bidder for the projects as the local partner in Brazil, will have a 15% stake in MV24 after the commencement of the FPSO charter.