Petrobras presents demand for contracts and opportunities for the national industry

Petrobras has authorized hiring processes for support vessels for exploration and production logistics, with the aim of meeting short-term demand for the years 2025 and 2026. It also approved contracting new support vessels for long-term demands, whose technical specifications will focus on new technological solutions for efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These opportunities mark the beginning of a series of contracts to meet the company's Strategic Plan.
 
The company estimates that it will hire around 200 support vessels in the 2024-2028 period to replace existing contracts and increase its fleet. Of this total, it is estimated that there will be opportunities to build up to 38 new vessels, meet new demands, and partly renew the fleet with more modern and sustainable units.

The contracting processes will be announced in the next few days. In the first tender for the construction of new vessels, the plan is to contract 12 support vessels of the PSV (Platform Supply Vessel) type.
 
It is also planned to contract cabotage vessels, FPSOs, and vessels to carry out subsea and well activities and decommissioning platforms.
 
"We are in permanent contact with the supplier market and are studying the best contracting strategies to meet Petrobras' demand while maintaining the processes' competitiveness. We are also committed to developing our local supplier market, promoting initiatives that can create opportunities for the national industry," said Jean Paul Prates, president of Petrobras.
 
The projects to be implemented by Petrobras will boost demand from the national offshore industry. According to the company's Strategic Plan 2024-2028+, the investment in all its activities, of US$ 102 billion, will generate 280,000 direct and indirect jobs per year.
 
More opportunities 
 
By 2028, 14 new platform ships are expected to be built at different stages, providing opportunities for the Brazilian offshore industry. Considering the 2028+ scenario, the company is currently conducting six contracting processes for FPSO (floating production, storage, and offloading) type platform ships. Four are related to chartering (renting) platforms, and two are for Petrobras' own units, with demands for building modules in Brazil, an activity in line with the vocation of the national offshore industry.
 
Petrobras will have a fleet of approximately 25 drillships by 2024, used in oil research activities. By 2028, the company expects its fleet to reach 30 rigs.
 
In subsea activities, new vessel contracts for the 2024-2027 period are already at an advanced negotiation stage in the current contracting processes, in addition to assessing long-term opportunities for this segment.
 
In the cabotage activity, i.e., cargo transportation by ships within the limits of the Brazilian coast, in order to recompose the fleet, there are studies for the acquisition of new ships in addition to the traditional competitive chartering processes. Petrobras' current fleet consists of 26 ships, and sixteen more of various types are being studied, with the potential to be built within the timeframe of the 2024-2028 plan.
 
Production platform ships end their production cycle through an activity called decommissioning, which includes the sustainable recycling of their materials. This activity also generates demand for the national industry. By 2028, Petrobras plans to decommission 23 platforms, of which 9 are fixed and 14 are floating.
 
Petrobras' various demands open up many opportunities for the Brazilian offshore industry. To this end, the company has been presenting its portfolio of projects at various supplier forums since last year so that the market can prepare for future orders.