Petrobras roundup: US$4bn gas carrier tender, oil discovery, FPSO startup and more

Brazil’s Petrobras is moving forward with contracting new tankers as part of its logistics subsidiary’s fleet renewal and expansion program. 

Meanwhile, the state-run firm announced a new offshore discovery and the startup of the largest FPSO in the country. 

It also ratified its commitment to reuse old production platforms by extending their useful life, amid inflation in the global offshore construction sector.

Furthermore, Petrobras signed a contract with SBM Offshore to develop carbon capture solutions in FPSOs.  

"Petrobras must have a vocation for helping to develop the country. The stronger Petrobras is, the stronger Brazil will be. We’ll continue building ships, rigs and platforms, producing oil, and refining oil because this mission is in your hands, the people of Petrobras," President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Monday, during the ceremony marking the revival of the local naval and offshore industry, at the Angra dos Reis Terminal (Tebig) in Rio de Janeiro state.

Tankers 

Petrobras’ Transpetro has launched an international public tender for the acquisition of eight gas carriers with capacities of 7,000m³, 10,000m³ and 14,000m³, with an estimated investment of 23bn reais (US$4bn).  

The process is part of the fleet renewal and expansion program of the Petrobras system, which began in July 2024 and concluded in January with the contracting of four handy-class vessels with the Ecovix and Mac Laren shipyards in Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro states, respectively for US$69.5mn reais for each vessel.

This new tender is designed to triple Transpetro’s capacity to transport LPG and derivatives and will enable the company to carry ammonia. 

The expansion of the gas carrier fleet, from six to 14 vessels, takes into account the increase in natural gas production in the country and aims to meet Petrobras' demand along the Brazilian coast and for inland waterway shipping, as is already the case in the northern region and in Lagoa dos Patos in Rio Grande do Sul.

The tender is divided into two lots, which cannot be awarded to the same shipyard or consortium. The competition allows participation from all shipyards that meet the technical and economic criteria outlined in the bidding document.

One of the lots includes five vessels: three with capacity of 7,000m³ and two with capacity of 14,000m³. These gas carriers will be of the pressurized type, intended for transporting LPG and derivatives.

The other lot covers the acquisition of three vessels with capacity of 10,000m³, of the semi-refrigerated type. As a key differentiator, these ships will also be able to transport ammonia, a product that Transpetro does not currently carry. The introduction of these new vessels will allow the company to expand its service portfolio.

Interested companies have 90 days to submit their proposals. According to the schedule, the first vessel is expected to be launched within 30 months after contract formalization, with the remaining ships delivered successively every six months.

Offshore support vessels 

At the end of 2024, Petrobras contracted 12 new platform supply vessels (PSVs), specialized in transporting equipment. These vessels will be built at the winning companies' own shipyards, located in Santa Catarina.

Additionally, Petrobras plans to contract 20 more vessels, including 10 oil spill recovery vessels (OSRVs) for emergency response, eight ROV support vessels (RSVs) for inspection and intervention in subsea systems, and two anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels for platform anchoring.

The construction of maritime support vessels now requires 40% local content to comply with the regulations of oil and gas sector regulator ANP. 

Reuse of FPSOs

Petrobras signed two letters of intent for conducting studies on the repurposing of oil and gas production platforms that are in the decommissioning phase.

In the first agreement, in addition to Petrobras, the signatories include the national union of the shipbuilding and offshore repair industry (Sinaval) and the marine economy companies association (Abeemar). In the second agreement, the signatory is the local oil and gas institute (IBP).

In a press statement, Petrobras stated that the initiative is aligned with the company's 2025-29 business plan, which envisions the decommissioning of 10 platforms by 2029 and includes studies to assess possibilities for repurposing these assets.

"This strategy can generate benefits such as reducing logistical costs, strengthening the supplier base, and promoting better sustainability practices," the state-owned company said.

As previously reported, in an effort to increase the recovery factor of oil and gas reserves in the Campos basin and avoid the high costs of building new FPSOs, Petrobras is evaluating using units that were due to be decommissioned in new projects. 

Among the platforms initially under study were the P-19, P-35, P-37 and P-47.

Búzios 

Petrobras has confirmed the presence of oil with the drilling of well 9-BUZ-99D-RJS, located in the western region of the Búzios field. This is a new accumulation in a zone below the main reservoir.

The well is located 189km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state and was drilled at a water depth of 1,940m. Tests conducted from a depth of 5,600m confirmed the presence of oil reservoirs through electrical logs, which will later be characterized through laboratory analyses.

The discovery reaffirms the pre-salt potential of the Búzios field, according to Petrobras.

The Búzios shared reservoir consortium, composed of Petrobras as the operator (with an 88.98% stake), in partnership with CNOOC (7.34%) and CNPC (3.67%), with Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) as the manager, will continue analyzing the results to proceed with activities in the area.

Last Saturday, the Almirante Tamandaré (Búzios 7) FPSO began production in Búzios. In total, 15 wells will be connected to the platform through subsea infrastructure, including seven oil producers, six water and gas injectors, one convertible well (both producer and injector) and one gas injector.

According to Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard, Búzios 7 is the first high-capacity unit to be installed in the field. 

"The FPSO Almirante Tamandaré has the potential to produce up to 225,000b/d of oil and process 12Mm³/d of gas. It is part of the sixth production system in Búzios and will help the field reach a production level of 1Mb/d of oil, expected in the second half of 2025," said the president.

The Búzios field is expected to become Petrobras' largest production field in the near future. 

"It is highly productive, with substantial reserves of light oil. By 2030, we expect to surpass the milestone of 1.5Mb/d of production per day," explained Sylvia Anjos, Petrobras director of exploration and production.

The unit was chartered from SBM Offshore and, in addition to having above-average capacity compared to industry units, it features decarbonization technologies, such as a closed flare system, which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also includes heat recovery technologies that lower the unit’s additional energy demand.

Petrobras' current business plan calls for the installation of five additional platforms in Búzios: P-78, P-79, P-80, P-82 and P-83. In addition, the company is expected to launch a tender to hire a 12th FPSO (Búzios 12) for the asset later this year. 

Carbon capture

Petrobras signed a contract with SBM Offshore for the application of carbon capture modules on FPSOs. 

The study covers the design and commercial evaluation of various carbon capture system configurations to be installed on future FPSOs deployed in Petrobras fields. 

It includes assessments of different turbine types and machinery configurations, gas flow rates, installed gas turbine power, CO2 concentrations, and gas composition.