Author: Rafael Bortoloti

Petrobras authorized the process of hiring support vessels for exploration and production logistics, with short-term demand: 2025 and 2026.

The company will also hire new support ships for long-term demands, whose technical specifications will focus on new technological solutions for efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Petrobras estimates hiring around 200 ships by 2028, to replace current charters or to increase the current fleet. Of this total, it is estimated that there will be opportunities to build up to 38 new vessels.

In the first tender, 12 PSV-type support vessels are expected to be contracted. It is also planned to hire cabotage ships, FPSOs, vessels to carry out underwater and well activities, in addition to platform decommissioning activities.

These opportunities mark the beginning of a series of hirings to meet the company’s Strategic Plan.

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The Merchant Marine Fund (FMM) Board of Directors approved the contribution of BRL 8.56 billion for the construction of two FPSOs: Sergipe Águas Profundas (SEAP) I and Sergipe Águas Profundas II (SEAP II). Both basins are located in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin (SEAL), approximately 100 km from the coast.

Last month, we published that Petrobras was facing a hard market to lease FPSOs for SEAL, in view of the increasing costs and the specificities of the GTD for both projects SEAP I and SEAP II.

Carlos Travassos, Executive Director of Engineering, Technology and Innovation declared two weeks ago that Petrobras has more control over operations with their owned units, but on the other hand, the process is lengthier. Travassos commented on aspects to increase the viability of projects such as the access to the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM), in addition to conversations with private and foreign financial institutions.

“If we are not successful, we will move on to our own units, operated by Petrobras. The tendency is for an own unit to take more time than a chartered one. There are other challenges, but we would have much more around the process”, said Travassos in a talk with journalists.

SEAP project should have the capacity to process 120,000 boed each.

Launched in April 2023, with proposals initially scheduled to be delivered in October, the tender was already postponed three times.

Petrobras inked a charter contract for the Cargo Transfer Vessel (CTV) SeaLoader 2, a ship owned by Sealoading Holding A/S (a business unit of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., MOL group). The vessel has been operating for Petrobras since 2022 and performed over 30 operations to test the ability to eliminate the need of DP shuttle tankers on tanker offloading operations (a.k.a. tanker lifting).

The sister ship Sealoader 1 has been operating for TotalEnergies in the field of Lapa.

The concept of eliminating the DP shuttle tankers could generate positive impact on emissions reduction while eliminating ship-to-ship (sts) transfers. Expectations are of 60% reduction on coastal cargoes while up to 80% reduction could be generated in operations where DP shuttle tankers have to cruise all the way to Uruguai or Argentina. Yes, it happens.

The spread moored FPSO tanker liftings are performed with DP shuttle tankers with a bow loading system and a load capacity of 1.0 million barrels (approximately).

However, the CTV concept raises questions, as the constant use of TS (tugs astern of the conventional tanker) which are also required on direct FPSO / tanker conventional mooring, the considerable emissions while the CTV in operation (on DP) and in transit from and to location, the inability for direct mooring of the conventional tanker to the FPSO and the cost of building reflected on the charter rate, fuel consumption port utilization and others.

WSB Advisors in cooperation with COPPE / UFRJLaboratório de Ondas e Correntes – LOC – PENO/COPPE/UFRJ, based on a concept of WSB’s Mooring and Unloading leader Jairo Araujo, has conceived and presented (in Offshore Technology Conference (OTC)) a project with a alternative solutions.

“WSB’s proposal is based on the study of new methods and procedures as well as other alternatives that aim to use conventional ships (without DP) of the Suezmax size (or even VLCCs). It also analyzes the possibility of using conventional ships from the reevaluation of the study that directed the use of DP ships at Petrobras. It also verifies the possibility of using monobuoys, technology already established in the market and widely used in West Africa and which uses a series of safety systems. The great advantage of the monobuoy is that it allows the mooring of occasional ships up to the size of VLCC and do not generate atmospheric emissions and other impacts”, says Jairo.

The WSB study is just as good if applied in recent acquisitions such as PRIO Albacora Leste, 3R Petroleum Papa-Terra, Enauta Atlanta and HR Karoon Brasil Bauna. 

Petrobras is facing a hard market to lease FPSOs for Sergipe-Alagoas (SEAL), in view of the increasing costs and the specificities of the GTD for these projects SEAP I and SEAP II. This is the second time Petrobras comes out to market for SEAP I though previously the selection being for BOT (Built-Operate-Transfer), after not having secured suitable offers. The alternative to leasing is for Petrobras to order the units themselves.

Carlos Travassos, Executive Director of Engineering, Technology and Innovation declared this week that Petrobras has more control over operations with their owned units, but on the other hand, the process is lengthier. Travassos commented on aspects to increase the viability of projects such as the access to the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM), in addition to conversations with private and foreign financial institutions.

SEAP project should have the capacity to process 120,000 boed each. Launched in April 2023, with proposals initially scheduled to be delivered in October, the tender was already postponed three times.