Petrobras orders nine more drillships

AUGUST 13, 2012 — Petrobras has signed contracts with Sete Brasil, Odebrecht and Etesco covering the charter and operation nine drillships. The drillships are the final units in a program under which Sete Brasil is building 21 offshore drilling units that will be operated by various operators on charters for Petrobras.

The drillships are to be built in Brazil, with a local content (Brazilian goods and services) of 55-65 percent.

Six of the nine are to be built at the Enseada Paraguaçu shipyard, in Maragogipe (Bahia). Four will be operated by Odebrecht and the remaining two by Etesco. The Bahia shipyard is in the initial construction phase. Partners in the yard include Odebrecht, OAS, UTC and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI).

A further three drillships are to be built at the Rio Grande 2 shipyard, in the municipality of Rio Grande (Rio Grande do Sul), and will all be operated by Etesco. Rio Grande 2 is undergoing expansion to meet growing demand for shipbuilding in Brazil.

Petrobras undertook a prior analysis of the shipyards to assess their capacity to meet the contractual commitments for building these rigs, including the minimum local content requirements and delivery timeframe. This involved verifying technical skilling, the shipyard’s construction and siting, evidence of commitments from suppliers of inputs and the main equipment packages, environmental licensing, contract management and legal/financial aspects.

Delivery of the nine drillships is scheduled to commence in 2016 and they will be used mainly for drilling wells in the Santos Basin pre-salt region, including Rights Transfer areas. The rigs will be capable of operating in water depths of up to 3,000 m and able to drill wells up to 10,000 m long.