Brazil's Petrobras is looking to attract foreign investments to boost local shipyards, said the state-run oil firm's CEO Magda Chambriard on Tuesday.
Petrobras is looking for strong companies to partner with shipyards to build more ships locally, said Chambriard, who recently visited China and discussed the matter with government officials and firms.
"We are traveling and visiting other countries in order to invite companies," Chambriard told journalists during the OTC conference in Houston.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former metalworker, has made it a priority to generate jobs at local shipyards - a sector that has struggled for years. Petrobras has already commissioned several new ships.
The oil firm's transportation and logistics subsidiary Transpetro expects to commission 25 ships by 2030.
"What we have in our business plan is much bigger than what we can do in Brazil," said director for engineering, technology and innovation, Renata Baruzzi. "We need help from our partners, so why not China?"
(Reuters - Reporting by Marianna Parraga, writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Nia Williams)