Petrobras Kicks Off 7th Round of Prorefam

Petrobras, a Brazil-based integrated oil and gas company, has announced the 7th round of its fleet renewal plan for offshore support vessels (Prorefam).

The announcement was made on Monday morning (March 17) at Petrobras headquarters in Rio de Janeiro by the company’s President Maria das Graças Silva Foster and the Director of Exploration and Production, José Formigli.

Following the announcement of the 7th round of Prorefam, Petrobras signed contracts for eight vessels from the 5th round. The contracts were signed with Bram Offshore Transportes Maritimos Ltda, Norskan Offshore Ltda and Starnav Serviços Marítimos Ltda.

Petrobras President Maria das Graças Silva Foster highlighted the importance of the program for the industry as well as for Petrobras, emphasizing that the company’s priority is to increase their oil production, as per the 2014-2018 Business and Management Plan.

With regard to contracts, Graça Foster stressed that prices must be within international norms. “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,” she said.

Formigli revealed that calls for bids for the 7th and final round will be issued by Friday, March 21, and that proposals must be submitted to Petrobras by June 27. Contract signing is scheduled for October 30 of this year.

Speaking about Petrobras’ expectations for the 7th round, the director reinforced the importance of the Brazilian industry setting competitive prices. He also presented the program’s scope, which includes a total of up to 146 vessels over seven rounds between 2008 and 2014.

The minimum local construction content varies between 50% and 60% depending on the type of vessel, and is 70% for the offshore operations phase. “At this point, we have managed to sign contracts for 87 of 146 vessels“, stated Formigli, adding that, of these 87 vessels, 61 are under construction and 26 are operating.

He also emphasized the importance of meeting deadlines. “We are working hard with the companies to recover from any lags and to find permanent solutions,” he said, and further stressed that problems of this type have been relatively small and have been overcome.

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 PSVs (Platform Supply Vessels), used for loading platforms with liquid and solid loads, and OSRVs (Oil Spill Response Vessels), which are designed for recovering oil offshore. Eleven are AHTS vessels (Anchor Handling Tug Supply), which are built to handle anchors, tow-vessels, and transport supplies.

Out of the fleet of offshore support vessels working with Petrobras, 53% are Brazilian.

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%.

Schedule for Upcoming Rounds

The 6th Round:

• Proposals received: February 4, 2014
• Results published: March 6, 2014
• Start of negotiations: March 13, 2014
• Contract execution: by April 30, 2014

The 7th Round:

• Call for bids: by March 21, 2014
• Submission of proposals: by June 27, 2014
• Contract execution: by October 30, 2014

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petrobras, March 19, 2014