Out to tender: Petrobras
Petrobras readies 28 new tenders
Brazil's state-run energy company Petrobras will start launching tenders for 28 vessels due to be delivered between 2013 and 2017, chief financial officer Almir Guilherme Barbassa said.
In May last year Petrobras announced plans to charter 40 drilling platforms to operate in deep and ultra-deep waters.
The company last year tendered the first 12 units, which will be delivered for 2012 operations, but delayed plans for the remaining 28 due to the financial crisis.
"We intend [to place orders] this year," BNamericas quoted Barbassa saying in a webcast. He added that the company will "probably" start seeking out vessels in the the next three to four months.
Barbassa also said Petrobras will not place orders for all 28 at once.
"We are discussing the strategy, but most probably will do it in tranches, taking five, six or eight at a time," he added.
Petrobras has discussed the project with a number of Asian shipbuilders, although vessels must be built in Brazil.
Earlier this year Petrobras services director Renato Duque said the company planned to contract an initial seven rigs for exploration in the Santos basin to assess the market's behaviour.