Santiago De Compostela, Spain – Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos signed a $392 million deal on Wednesday for the construction of two floating hotels, or flotels, at shipyards in northwestern Spain.

The president of the autonomous community of Galicia, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, who presided over the signing ceremony, said the deal stems from commitments made by Pemex in May to build several ships in that region.

The contracts were signed by Jose Manuel Carrera, head of Pemex Internacional España; Ramon Aguirre Rodriguez, president of the Sepi industrial holding company that owns state-owed Spanish shipbuilder Navantia; and Jose Garcia Costa, president of Spanish private shipyard Barreras.

The two flotels will be identical, both measuring 429 feet in length, with an 89 foot beam, and a deadweight of 7,000 tons. They will be able to travel at a maximum speed of 12 knots and have the capacity to house 600 oil workers.

Construction is to start immediately and they are to be delivered in 30 months.

According to Nuñez Feijoo, the two flotels will be built in shipyards in the cities of Ferrol and Vigo, and "construction of the vessels will guarantee employment for more than two years for a total of 3,000 people.”

He thanked Pemex for “not disappointing expectations” and said Galicia has great hopes for the world’s No. 4 oil company, noting that the deal opens up prospects for greater “opportunities, investment, and employment for both Navantia and the private sector."

He added that Pemex’s “orders for 14 tugs remain on course,” seven of which are to be built entirely in Galicia and another seven “between Galicia and Mexican shipyards.”

Carrera said that, "his company moves today from words to deeds” and expressed “confidence in these shipyards, which are world-renowned for their innovative capacity in state-of-the-art vessels.”

He praised Navantia’s engineering and also noted Barreras’ strong position in the shipbuilding industry.

Feijoo, Aguirre Rodriguez, and Carrera also offered their condolences for Tuesday’s deaths of 26 Pemex workers in an explosion at a gas plant outside the northern Mexican city of Reynosa.

Separately, the Port Authority of the northwestern Spanish city of La Coruña said this week it expects to award in early October a concession requested by Pemex to operate a bulk liquids terminal in the outer port. Pemex has asked for 322,494 square feet in the port for a facility to blend gasoline for export to Mexico.

The publication of the request in Spain’s Official Bulletin of the State, or BOE, means that the one-month period for other companies to bid on the project will end on September 30th, opening the way for the rights to be granted in early October.

Pemex said it planned to invest $70 million in the terminal, which will be completed in two phases and process between 2 million tons and 2.5 million tons annually.

Pemex asked for a 35-year franchise, the longest allowed under Spanish law.

The terminal will serve as a logistics base for Pemex’s operations in Europe.