Brazil's President Maria das Graças Silva Foster and Director of Exploration and Production, José Formigli, announced the start of the seventh and final round of the Fleet Renewal Plan for Offshore Support Vessels (Prorefam). The Brazilian national said it will issue calls for bids by 21 March.
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva formed the US$5 billion, seven-year program in 2008. Petrobras announced at the time that it was the country’s “biggest vessel contracting plan of its [kind].” Da Silva called for 146 offshore exploration vessels to be built.
The minimum local construction content varies between 50%-60%, depending on the type of vessel, and is 70% for the offshore operations phase.
Contracts procured for the eight vessels from the fifth round were signed with Bram Offshore Transportes Maritimos Ltda., Norskan Offshore Ltda. and Starnav Serviços Marítimos Ltda. Formigli said that, in total, Petrobras had signed contracts for 87 of the 146 vessels called for. Of these, 61 are under construction and 26 are operating.
Most recently, on 7 Februry, the Executive Board of Petrobras approved eight support vessel contracts as part of Prorefam. On 4 February, the sixth round of contracts were received and are currently under technical review. Contracts will be executed by 30 April.
Petrobras' president said that the company's priority is to increase its oil production, as outlined in the 2014-2018 Business and Management Plan.
Both Foster and Formigli stressed the importance of competitively-priced bids within “international norms. This is a very important time… Petrobras can't wait. There is absolutely nothing that would justify us falling behind on our oil production curve. No contract that would put this at risk is a priority for us,” Foster said.
Proposals from the seventh round must be submitted by 27 June, and contracts must be executed by 30 October.
Prorefam contracts signed
Contracts were signed for 13 vessels in the first round, 27 in the second, 16 in the third, 23 in the fourth, and eight in the last round. Of these, 76 vessels are platform supply vessels (PSV), used for loading platforms with liquid and solid loads, and oil spill response vessels (OSRV), designed for recovering oil offshore. Eleven are anchor handling tug supply (AHTS), which are built to handle anchors, tow-vessels, and transport supplies.
Construction timeframes are three years from the time of contract execution for PSVs and OSRVs, and four years for AHTSs. Contracts are valid for up to eight years. Minimum local construction content is 60% for PSVs and OSRVs, and 50% for AHTS vessels. For vessel operations, minimum local content is 70%.
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