Southeast Brazil Will Need 19 New Oil Platforms by 2038, Says Leggio Partner

In a Veja report published on October 31, 2026, about Seatrium, the Singapore-based multinational that earns about 60% of its global revenue in Brazil, Marcus D'Elia, partner at Leggio Consulting and an oil and gas specialist, estimates that Southeast Brazil will need 19 new offshore oil production units by 2038. In the Foz do Amazonas Basin, future production cannot yet be sized, because the size of the reserve found off the coast of Amapá is still unknown.

Seatrium Earns Most of Its Revenue in Brazil

Seatrium, which has operated in Brazil since 2000, runs three shipyards, in Angra dos Reis (Rio de Janeiro), Navegantes (Santa Catarina) and Aracruz (Espírito Santo), and employs close to 12,000 people. In 2025, the company's global revenue was $9 billion, of which more than $5 billion came from its Brazilian operations. Petrobras is the end customer on almost 90% of the company's projects in Brazil, and the company keeps part of its manufacturing in Brazil, as local content rules require. According to Seatrium, the offshore assets it built that are still in operation support more than 70% of Brazil's oil production capacity.

New Frontiers Depend on the Size of the Reserves

The company is tracking opportunities in Brazil's Equatorial Margin and in Guyana. To sustain production over the long term, Brazil will need to open new exploration frontiers, which is why the recent oil discovery off the coast of Amapá matters. "For now, we don't know the scale of production in the Foz do Amazonas Basin," says D'Elia.

Seatrium sees the exploration of new areas as a way to secure shipyard orders for longer. That outcome, however, depends on the progress of oil companies' projects in the Equatorial Margin and on their investment decisions. Another possibility is the commercial use of pre-salt gas. In August, Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard said the company is considering exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) with Seatrium's support, liquefying the gas offshore and shipping it to foreign markets.

Read the full report in Veja.