Shipowners and shipyards in Brazil are putting together contract tenders for Petrobras after it opened tendering for the first phase for up to 38 offshore support vessels
The state-backed Brazilian energy group requires these vessels to go on long-term contracts to support its expected offshore drilling operations and field development plans in the second half of this decade.
Petrobras president, Jean Paul Prates, unveiled the tendering process on 19 April while highlighting the importance of the Brazilian shipbuilding industry to provide owners with new fleets of OSVs.
He expects charters for these vessels would lead to their construction at national shipyards before 2030. In total, Petrobras would require around 200 support vessels under contract to support its anticipated field developments, decommissioning and drilling activities under its 2024-2028 business plan. Newbuilds would replace OSVs on existing contracts and modernise the fleet.
The first phase of tendering involves providing 12 platform support vessels (PSVs) under tendering started in April. Petrobras anticipates starting bidding for 10 oil spill response vessels during H2 2024 and for seven subsea support vessels with remotely operated vehicles in Q1 2025.
It would also seek to contract another 11 PSVs for delivery after 2030 at a later date. Petrobras is still analysing its contracting strategy for anchor-handling tugs, but forecast bidding would start during 2025.
Petrobras has indicated newbuild OSVs should be fitted for reducing emissions through the use of LNG fuel, energy storage and hybrid diesel-electric propulsion.
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