Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. ("MOL", Head Office: Tokyo, President: Junichiro Ikeda), and AKOFS Offshore AS ("AKOFS", Head Office: Norway, President & CEO: Geir Sjøberg) have acquired a subsea support vessel, the Skandi Santos, from its previous owner, through Avium Subsea AS, a joint venture established by the three companies in Norway. The vessel operation under the new ownership launched on November 23.

Since 2010, AKOFS had been chartering the vessel to Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. ("Petrobras"), the Brazilian state-run oil company, for use in the installation of subsea facilities required for production in deepwater oil and gas fields off Brazil. At a time when there is a global need for the reduction of development and production costs in oil and gas fields, the highly efficient methods enabled by the Skandi Santos have helped Petrobras to reduce its development costs.

AKOFS is owned by Akastor ASA ("Akastor", Head Office: Norway, CEO: Kristian Røkke), one of the core companies of the Aker Group, a major Norway-based company engaged in various offshore activities. Mitsui and MOL have agreed with Akastor and AKOFS to pursue opportunities for increased collaboration based on a long-term perspective.

For production in deepwater oil and gas fields, in addition to Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit—an existing area of business for Mitsui— subsea facilities are essential. Mitsui intends to use this project as a stepping stone to deeper involvement in this area, including subsea support vessels and subsea facilities. Together with the FPSO and drillship businesses, the subsea business will become another core component of Mitsui's activities in the field of offshore business, also envisioning the exploration opportunities to contribute to the development in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

1. Profile of Avium Subsea AS

2. Profile of AKOFS

3. Profile of Subsea Support Vessel, the Skandi Santos

Subsea support vessel: Skandi Santos

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