The contracts could be worth more than $5 billion.
Bids for the vessels are so close that who exactly will get what is yet to be decided.
However, while Subsea 7 is also a contender in one key category, the Norwegian-Malaysian and French-Norwegian partnerships are seen as best placed to walk away with the majority of the work.
One source said Petrobras may end up contracting six or seven PLSVs, splitting three contracts each between Sapura and Technip-NorSkan, and likely picking two vessels from each category in the tender.
