Energy Talks – Ricardo Chagas

In this edition of  Energy Talks, WSB is pleased to talk with Ricardo Chagas. He joined the Chouest Group in 2004 and serves as Edison Chouest Offshore’s SVP for Latin America overseeing aal Chouest companies in Brazil. Ricardo is an industrial engineer with a MBA in oil and gas from COPPE UFRJ, with more than 35 years in the Oil and Gas market.

Ricardo, first, thank you for being with us today for this interview.

You have over 35 years of experience in the offshore market, working for big players such as Tidewater, Oceaneering and your current position in Bram Offshore, a subsidiary of Edison Chouest. Can you tell us why and how you joined this market and what was your experience in the previous companies you worked for?

Ricardo Chagas: Well , I used to work in the shipping repairs industry prior to joining Tidewater and Oceaneering, and in 2003 I was approached by the Chouest family, where they offered me a position with the challenge to replicate the same business model we had in the US in Brazil (Shipyard | Vessels Operations and Shore Base). 

Can you tells us more about the circumstances that led you to join Edison Chouest Offshore ? And what are some of your key challenges within the company?

RC: I believe that the challenge of starting a “new” business from scratch while you are young and having the direct support of the owners, makes a huge difference. Frankly, I do not have any challenge with the company, we have a very cohesive team with the same obsjective which is to be succesfull working hard and staying focused in our clients proportionating the best we can.   

The Chouest Group in Brazil has 70 vessels, 24 ROVs, 4500 employees, one shipyard in Itajaí, and Three companies: B-Port, C-Innovation and Bram Offshore

 The Edison Chouest Group is one of the most traditional entities in the offshore segment. In which business areas is Edison Chouest active and which other companies compose their portfolio?

 RC:  I think we are kinda of unique in this sector, we are vertically integrated providing a complete one stopshop solution to support our clients in the oil and gas and renewable space.

I believe that by owning a shipyard where we design and build our own vessels and operate them, makes the company very competitive. Additionaly we own our own ROV and Survey company (C-Innovation) , Offshore Logistic facilities (B-PORT, C-PORT ), Tank Cleaning, Communciation (C-Comm), Subsea Engineering (C-Subsea),  Renewables (GIS), Artifical Intelligence, Machining Learning and Digitalization services and DP (dynamic positioning manucturing), including IBS (Integrated Bridge systems) from our afiliated MT (Marine Technologies), etc… The latest/newest company is the Spinning Energy that provides solution to reduce carbon emissions .

 As Executive Senior Vice President Latin America, we understand you are often travelling to meet various demands within your role, both internal and external. Tell us a little bit about your routine having offices in USA and Brazil.

RC: I moved to Houston in 2009, every 15 days I’m in Rio. The main reason for that is that most of the Operators and Services Companies are based there, and as a consequence, most of the projects and stakeholders responsible for the projects are based there also, so being where the decisions are made increases probability of being successful.

We have noticed an increase in the Brazilian offshore market activity. Requirements being issued, vessels being awarded, daily rates and vessel utilization peaking. What are your expectations for this market for the next three years?

RC: We have suffered one of the worst downturns of the history of our industry since 2013 in the Oil and Gas sector, made worse by the pandemic.

If you remember, in 2012 the market was very promising with daily rates were at a decent level. The market today is simply returning to the 2013 level, additionally there are more NOCs (National Oil Companies) and SOCs (Small Oil Companies) that acquired mature fields from Petrobras increasing the demand of vessels, shore bases, ROVs, etc…We certainly cannot act with emotion but yes with precaution. The boat owners in Brazil went through major losses over the years, I believe now we might be able to at least breakeven.

There are a shortage of PSVs in the market, a large number of PSVs globally were converted to work in the renewable industry and are still there working for a decent rate. Sooner or later, in Brazil it will happen the same. PSVs will be converted to support the Wind Farm market. So,  the Oil and Gas companies will need to take this in consideration. There are several PSVs in Brazil converted in to RSVs , SDSVs, WSSVs, etc…  

Thanks, Ricardo