A front runner has emerged in a coveted tender to supply Petrobras with nearly 292 kilometres of flexible risers to handle potential problems arising from the use of such equipment in carbon-dioxide rich pre-salt fields in Brazil’s Santos basin.

The tender, described by sources as the definitive solution to replace potentially compromised flexible pipes in the prolific pre-salt fairway, saw little competition from invited contractors but it is considered key for the Brazilian state-controlled oil company to handle issues related to stress-induced corrosion cracking from supercritical carbon dioxide (SCC-CO2).