Petrobras has issued a pair of international tenders for the charter of accommodation and maintenance units to serve in Brazilian waters, asking for at least three vessels, one of which is needed by mid-2019.

The first tender, issued in mid-December, seeks two or more units to work for three years, renewable for the same period but divided into two contractual packages with different specifications.

The first package precludes ship-shaped vessels, apparently addressing the preference of upstream Petrobras managers, covering the operating units in Santos and Rio de Janeiro, for flotiles that were purpose-built, rather than converted.

The second package provides for the submission of proposals to provide a single flotel and provides space for proposals involving ship-shaped vessels.

The loophole apparently reflects the conviction that the Petrobras managers who handle the region of the Campos Basin outside the oil services center of the city of Macaé, will be able to obtain a better commercial agreement in this way.

Petrobras is requesting flotels equipped with dynamically positioned systems, helipads and fully automatic and retractable walkways.

A competitive bidding process to supply these flotels – known in Brazil as maintenance and services units (UMS) – is scheduled for January 21st. It is understood that Petrobras wants these units to be ready for action by the end of the year.

The second tender, issued shortly before the Christmas holidays, 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 28th, but Petrobras is looking for a unit that will be available within three months of signing the contract, and offering a period of just 210 days, renewable for the same period.

Os likely competitors include Floatel International, GranEnergia, PACC Offshore, OOS International, Prosafe, Edda Accomodation and – for the ship-shaped slot – the vessel Aquarius Brasil, partially controlled by Sembcorp, giant of Singapore shipyards.

Specifications for the three Petrobras flotels include accommodation berths for at least 450 people.

The double bidding marks the return of Petrobras to the contracting of flatons, after a surge in offshore maintenance activities in the Campos and Santos basins in the last four years.

Petrobras, which once had nine units operating simultaneously on the Brazilian coast, now has a fleet of just four vessels – OOS Gretha, OOS Tiradentes, Olympia I and Safe Notos.

Prosafe also owns the Safe Concordia flotel in Brazil working with Modec on a short-term contract expiring in May 2019.

The Safe Concordia is currently conducting operations for the Cidade de Niterói FPSO in the Marlim Leste field and will soon be deployed on the Cidade de Angra dos Reis float in the pre-salt Lula field.