A new niche market is forming. With the crisis caused by the pandemic of COVID-19 a river of opportunity seems to arise for shipyards: that of receiving the units that will be placed in layup during the period of decrease in operations

After Splenda Offshore, administrator of the Port Terminal of Angra dos Reis (TPAR), received on the last 15th, for maintenance and tank cleaning services, the flotel platform POSH Xanadu owned by Pach Offshore Services Holdings (POSH), now it was BW Offshore's turn to announce that it is also looking for a shipyard to receive its FPSO Cidade de São Vicente for lay up.

The FPSO Cidade de São Vicente will have its contract with Petrobras expire next month (in June), but will be maintained in the country after its decommissioning in the Farfan area, in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin. The information was given by the company's Assets manager, Weverton Nazario, during a webinar promoted by Firjan.

The platform comes from TLD's (Long Duration Test) contracts with Petrobras since 2009 and the company's intention is to allocate the FPSO in a next contract in Brazil and meanwhile, it has already started the search for a shipyard where it can stay in lay up and carry out maintenance work, which successive contracts did not allow during this period.

BW Offshore has a new strategy

With the crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the entire oil industry and caused barrel prices to plummet, BW Offshore decided to prioritize the FPSO's operation area and put aside its extraction and production projects a little. The company is keeping an eye on contracts with Petrobras and is studying the possibility of competing in Petrobras' tender for the charter of the Itapu unit, in the Santos cluster and in the notices (to be released) of Buzios VI it's from a number of other production units.

In Brazil, BW Offshore loses its only contract with Petrobras, but its portfolio of contracts still includes the Polvo FPSO, under contract with PetroRio, and the provision of operating services for the Peregrino FPSO for Equinor.