Road to Rio: OSVs lured to Brazil with long-term charters

To make its five-year business plan to develop Brazil’s promising oil and gas reserves a reality, Petrobras plans to spend US$77Bn in E&P capex and charter a significant fleet of existing and new offshore assets — about 200 vessels in all.

This chartered fleet will be a mix of offshore support vessels, drilling rigs, tankers and floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs). Plans call for the contract or study of up to 11 FPSOs, and charter of 25 to 30 rigs and 80 to 90 subsea vessels, including anchor-handling tugs supply vessels, ROV support vessels (RSVs), pipelay support vessels, shallow dive support vessels, W2W vessels and multi-purpose support vessels.

The oil company’s plans are stimulating local shipbuilding, with 48 OSVs and 16 handymax, gas tankers and MR1 tankers targeted for construction at Brazilian shipyards. Some US$21Bn will be injected in the country’s maritime and offshore industrial base.

“Petrobras’ lucrative, long-term contracts have lured offshore assets from other international regions”

While it is not the world’s largest charterer among oil companies, Petrobras’ lucrative, long-term contracts have lured offshore assets from other international regions, such as the North Sea, where offshore drilling activity has slowed. Long-term charters have also benefitted local owners, too.

In the last few months, Rio-based owner OceanPact has landed several major contracts in open tenders, securing long-term deals for its fleet. Under four new four-year contracts with Petrobras, worth about US$601M, it will charter ROV support vessels (RSVs) Parcel do Bandolim, Parcel das Timbebas, Parcel das Paredes and Parcel dos Reis. The vessels will be employed in ROV operations and the inspection of subsea structures, preventive and corrective maintenance, installation and removal of subsea equipment, among other activities, across Petrobras’ offshore units.

In December 2024, OceanPact signed a contract worth about US$130M with Petrobras for a four-year charter of the offshore terminal support vessel Ilha do Mosqueiro.

More recently, OceanPact signed two contracts with Petrobras worth US$131M, to perform marine environmental monitoring services in multiple locations. This will cover the collection of environmental samples (water, biota and sediments) and the acquisition of meteorological and oceanographic data to support Petrobras’ environmental characterisation and monitoring projects. One of the contracts is specifically for environmental monitoring in the sensitive Equatorial Margin region along the northern coast of Brazil.

Well-stimulation vessels extended

In September, the Brazilian oil major signed a multi-year agreement with Baker Hughes to extend the deployment of the well stimulation vessels, Blue Marlin and Blue Orca, supporting optimisation of offshore oil and gas production in Brazil’s post- and pre-salt fields.

Blue Marlin and Blue Orca will deliver advanced chemical treatments to stimulate wells, maximising production for brownfield and greenfield developments in multiple basins. Both vessels will also support well construction through gravel pack and frac pack operations.

Earlier this year, DOF secured a four-year contract for the four AHTSs, Skandi Iguaçu, Skandi Angra, Skandi Paraty and Skandi Urca worth a total of US$480M. Skandi Iguaçu’s contract will start at the end of its current one in February 2026, while contracts for the other three AHTS will commence in January 2026.