Brazilian shipyards will increase construction of oil platforms and drilling rigs to meet the needs of state-run energy giant Petrobras, President Dilma Rousseff said in her weekly column.
"We already have platforms built in Brazil and we are building many more," Ms. Rousseff said in a written response to a question from a teacher in Macae, home to Petrobras's operation base for the offshore Campos Basin. The Campos Basin accounts for more than 85% of Brazil's crude oil production.
Ms. Rousseff noted that Brazil's shipyards, once among the world's largest, fell into decline in the 1990s. Demands made by her mentor and former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to build more platforms and drilling rigs in Brazil are starting to bear fruit, Ms. Rousseff said.
"Brazil shipyards have orders for 21 production platforms and 30 drilling rigs," she said. "All of this represents generates employment and income in Brazil and also gives a boost to our shipbuilding industry."