Even thoughthere is no formal tender out, Petrobras executive manager of services CristinaPinho told Upstream the company is trying to secure additional PLSVs in theshort-term. However she acknowledged this is a difficult task.

“The problemwith the PLSV market is that nobody builds those vessels on spec, so we need tolook for vessels that can be converted into PLSVs. But this is extremelytough,” she said on the sidelines of the OTC Brasil conference in Rio deJaneiro.