The Mexican oil company promises to entrust the Xunta with orders for the community naval sector The Galician naval sector will achieve contracts to build 7 tug boats and to participate in the construction of 7 more built by Mexican shipyards. All will mean an investment in the community of around 247.2 millions Euros and will employ 2.500 people, according Xunta's calculations. Pemex, the state Mexican company, the four top oil company in the world, will order the vessels, after signed yesterday an "strategic alliance" with the Galician government in which it promise to make the orders to the community naval companies as private as public. Furthermore it will study the possibility of buying a "dormitory vessel" for workers of the oil platforms already in construction in the Ria de Vigo.
The agreement was announced yesterday after the meeting og the Xunta's councillor and several hours later, signed by the Galician Gobernment president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and the Pemex General Manager, Juan Suárez Coppel.
The agreement means a promise of the company to order this work to shipyards that now should present their offers. Although the content of the agreement was not announced, Feijóo said that "now it is on Galician shipyards hands to respond according quality and prices required by the company". Hours before, after announced the agreement, he said that "who make the best offers" will compete for the contracts and will achieve them.
The agreement includes a new, because the public shipyards Navantia could compete as well. To avoid the banning of built civil vessels, the Mexican Army could be the company in charge of making the order. The only public shipyard authorized for the civil construction is Puerto Real in Cadiz. The new is an oxygen balloon for the naval sector, that within last years has lost 9.000 employees. The agreement does not establish which shipyards will win the contracts. All of the community will compete.
"this alliance is an opportunity", said Feijóo, that thanks the agreement a Coppel, on the presence of main shipyards of South Galicia and Navantia managers. "If Pemex see an opportunity in Galicia it is because we have an strategic enviable position, production capacity and resources", he continued. "The Galician naval stands a comparison with any naval sector in the world". Next morning he qualified the agreement as "salvation tool" for the sector as well as indicate that Pemex could take benefits from the new subsidiary system that it is foreseen to be applied within next two months if the EU is agree. The agreement was achieve despite Pemex knew the suspension of the tax lease.
The Xunta considers that a Mexican presidential election, that predicts a government change from the PAN to the PRI, will not affect decisions from Pemex board of directors, under state control. The power transfer will be delayed until December, when orders will be closed.
The company manager defined yesterday the agreement as a fleet "modernization" guarantee and he linked the agreement to the Xunta's and Central Government management after the visit of Mariano Rajoy to Felipe Calderón, president of the Aztec Country.
Coppel defined the agreement as an "opportunity" and praised "the global recognition" of Galician shipyards.
Company will decide within 6 months if it will settle in the port of A Coruña turning into its first costumer.
Pemex could turn into the first costumer of Puerto Exterior Punta Langosteira, work which budget rocket until 800 millions Euros, almost twice the 479 foreseen. The agreement signed with the Xunta to promise to entrust the order to thE Galician naval, includes the beginning of conversations between the Mexican company and the A Coruña Port's Authority to study the possibility of the oil company to settle in this dock its logistic Europe headquarters, nowadays in Rotterdam. From there it would unload oil and distribute through the continent.
The decision, according Feijóo, will be taken within 6 months and it would mean the gaining of its first costumer for the installation from A Coruña, although it was made to move the oil traffic and to set up Repsol, now in the old dock, this company asks for 200 millions Euros to make the location change.
Although the Langosteira connection infrastructures are not finished yet, the president of Xunta was optimistic about the landing of the company in the new dock, in which he assured there are spaces for it and Repsol.
In a moment of economic difficulties and with the trust of markets on the Spanish economy, the president of the Xunta brag after the agreement, that, he assured, "in an international trust message" as in the Galician economy as in the Spanish one that "will allow to open more doors". (Source: FARO DE VIGO)