CHC Helicopter’s Brazililian subsidiary, BHS (Brazilian HelicopterServices Táxi Aéreo), opened a larger hangar for its existing offshore flying operations in Cabo Frio, the company announced this week.
The 6500sq m (about 70,000sq ft) hangar includes expanded facilities for BHS customers and passengers, meets expected long-term needs for aircraft capacity, and allows for advanced maintenance operations.
According to Ricardo Maltez, general manager of BHS business operations, the base in Cabo Frio is strategically important to the offshore oil and gas industry. The location is in the Campos Basin, a region that is responsible for more than 80% of Brazil’s oil production.
Cabo Frio is one of three BHS bases in the country. The others are also in Rio de Janeiro territory – one in Macaé and another in Farol de São Tomé, where a private heliport supports Petrobras, BHS’s largest customer in Brazil.
Maltez said that the new Cabo Frio hangar enables even higher service quality through increased efficiency for customers, along with more comfortable and productive workspace for BHS staff. Customers, he said, will see greater flight availability and flexibility, because the facility accommodates more of the company’s advanced aircraft, skilled people and leading-edge technology.
New improvements include: the passenger area, operations center, maintenance and workshop areas, training and meeting spaces, dressing and rest rooms. The warehouse is four times larger, allowing for a greater volume and variety of parts.