Challenges surrounding the complexity of the heavy workload required to bring to life the cutting-edge Hi-Sep technology are leaving subsea contractors with jitters and have forced Brazilian oil giant Petrobras to postpone the date for submission of bids in the highly anticipated tender.

After years of studies and pilot testing, Petrobras in late 2021 launched a competitive bidding process to select a company to be in charge of manufacturing and operating the complex Hi-Sep system, which is focused on the dense separation of associated gas with carbon dioxide content through the use of subsea centrifugal pumps.