Spanish shipyards and Pdvsa finalize deal on five vessels

Top executives of the Spanish shipyards Freire and Vulcano and state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) finalized on Tuesday a contract to build five vessels for Venezuela. The agreement, amounting to Euro 400 million (USD 513 million), is set to be signed in the coming months. It includes the construction of three oceanographic ships and two seismic ships, company sources told Efe. In case of concluding the contract, the ships will be built in the Spanish city of Vigo, in the next three years. The vessels would allow Pdvsa to carry out oil prospecting and mapping of seabed without resorting to foreign firms. Currently, Pdvsa has an agreement with Norwegian firm Statoil to carry out oil exploration on the seabed of Venezuela.