Petrobras Issues Bids for ‘At Least Three’ Flotels

Petrobras Issued A Pair Of International Bids For The Chartering Of Accommodation And Maintenance Units To Operate In Brazilian Waters, Requesting At Least Three Vessels, One Of Which Is Required By Mid-2019.

The First Bid, Issued In Mid-December, Seeks Two Or More Units To Work For Three Years, Renewed For The Same Period, But Divided Into Two Contract Packages With Different Specifications.

The First Package Prohibits Ship-Shaped Vessels, Apparently Addressing The Preference Of Petrobras’ Upstream Managers, Covering The Operational Units Of Santos And Rio De Janeiro, For Floatels That Were Purpose-Built, Rather Than Converted.

The Second Package Provides For The Submission Of Proposals To Supply A Single Flotel And Allows For Proposals Involving Ship-Shaped Vessels.

The Gap Apparently Reflects The Conviction That Petrobras Managers Handling The Campos Basin Outside Of The City Of Macaé’s Oil Service Center, Could Achieve A Better Business Deal This Way.

Petrobras Is Requesting Floatels Equipped With Dynamically Positioned Systems, Helipads, And Fully Automatic And Retractable Passages.

A Competitive Bidding Process To Supply These Floatels – Known In Brazil As Maintenance And Services Units (UMS) – Is Scheduled For January 21. It Is Understood That Petrobras Wants These Units Ready For Action By The End Of The Year.

The Second Bid, Issued Just Before The Christmas Holiday, Provides For The Deployment Of A Single Flotel By The Floating Production, Storage, And Offloading Vessel P-50, In The Albacora Leste Field, And Managed From The Port Of Vitória, In Espírito Santo.

The Auction For The Supply Of This Unit Is Scheduled For January 28, But Petrobras Is Seeking A Unit That Will Be Available Within Three Months After Contract Signing, And Offering A Deadline Of Only 210 Days, Renewable For The Same Period.

The Most Likely Competitors Include Floatel International, GranEnergia, PACC Offshore, OOS International, Prosafe, Edda Accommodation, And – For The Ship-Shaped Slot – The Vessel Aquarius Brasil, Partially Controlled By Sembcorp, Singapore’s Shipyard Giant.

The Specifications For Petrobras’ Three Floatels Include Accommodation Berths For At Least 450 People.

The Dual Bid Marks Petrobras’ Return To The Chartering Of Floatels, Following A Surge Of Offshore Maintenance Activities In The Campos And Santos Basins Over The Last Four Years.

Petrobras, Which Once Had Nine Units Operating Simultaneously On The Brazilian Coast, Now Counts On A Fleet Of Only Four Vessels – OOS Gretha, OOS Tiradentes, Olympia I, And Safe Notos.

Prosafe Also Has The Flotel Safe Concordia In Brazil Working With Modec On A Short-Term Contract Set To Expire In May 2019.

Safe Concordia Is Currently Conducting Operations For The FPSO Cidade De Niterói In The Marlim Leste Field And Will Soon Be Deployed On The Floatel Cidade De Angra Dos Reis In The Lula Pre-Salt Field.