Brazil’s Petrobras has settled a simmering dispute between two bidders chasing a valuable subsea contract that calls for the decommissioning of disused and obsolete equipment in the oil-prolific but environmentally sensitive Campos basin.

By putting an end to the quarrel, the Brazilian oil giant has approved the lowest bid submitted by local player Superpesa Maritima in the tender after dismissing an appeal filed by a rival consortium.

Last November, Petrobras received four commercial proposals in an engineering, preparation, removal and disposal (EPRD) tender designed to collect discarded equipment and remnants left in the seabed from some of its deactivated production platforms in Campos.