OIL exploration is to be taken tonewdepths off the coast of Brazil, thanks to advanced marine technology developed by theUK's Rolls-Royce aero-engine and industrial group.

Rolls-Royce has won a contract worth 38 million pounds to supply a new anchor-handling system to enable floating oil platforms to be secured to the seabed in extreme depths.

The equipment has been developed in response to the need to move exploration into deeper waters and will be first used by two vessels serving platforms owned byBrazilian oil company Petrobas.

The vessels are under construction and, when in service, will carry more than 1,000 tonnes of Rolls-Royce hardware. This willinclude winches specially designed to handle the movement and installation of 130-tonne torpedo anchors that penetrate the seabed to give a secure fixing for heavy-duty cablesused to keep platforms in position.

The powerful Rolls-Royce winches are each capable of handling anchors to depths of 3,000 metres, equivalent to more than four times the height of Rio's Corcovado mountain.

Ottar Antonsen, Rolls-Royce sales manager for deck machinery, said: "We have been part of the Brazilian offshore market for over 25 years and this latest contract demonstrates customer confidence in the capabilities of our equipment.

"As oil and gas exploration focuses on more extreme locations around the world, we have responded by leading the technological developments that will enable oil companies to extract oil in the most challenging of seabed conditions.

"During our time in Brazil, we have built a strong relationship with Petrobras and will soon be further enhancing our customer support in the region when we open our new marine service centre in Rio," he added.

When complete, each vessel will feature a deck machinery package and equipment designed to enhance safety of operations at sea. In addition to winches, Rolls-Royce will supply anchor-handling cranes, stern rollers, towing and stopping pins, and a pennant winder and spooling sheave.

The group also supplies Petrobas with power generation and compressor systems and since the 1950s has built a broad customer base in Brazil's civil and defence aerospace sectors.

The Rolls-Royce marine business employs 8,000 people in 34 countries with the main manufacturing centres being in the UK, the Nordic countries, the United States and increasingly Asia.

It has been supplying products and services to customers in Brazil since the 1950s. The main customer in civil aerospace is TAM that employs Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines in its A340s and V2500 engines in its Airbus A319s, A320s and A321s.

Brazil's air force has been using Rolls-Royce engines since 1953 and the country's navy uses a large fleet of Rolls-Royce gas turbines to power its frigates under a long-term service agreement. In the energy sector, Rolls-Royce supplies Petrobas with offshore electrical power generation systems and centrifugal gas compressors for the land-based Gasene pipeline project.

The UK company is a world leader in the marine business, providing products, service and expertise to more than 30,000 vessels in the offshore, merchant, naval surface and submarine markets. It designs ships and its product range includes propulsion systems featuring diesel engines and gas turbines, propellers, thrusters and water jets. Rolls-Royce also provides manoeuvring and stabilising systems and deck machinery.

About 30 per cent of its marine turnover is derived from service support activity, with a global network of sales and service offices in 34 countries. Rolls-Royce equipment is in service with more than 70 navies.