Petrobras has launched a new round of tenders for a floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) to be deployed for the Albacora field resumption project off the southeast coast.
The FPSO will be tendered under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract model. According to the draft contract, the winning company will build and operate the FPSO for 7.5 years, after which Petrobras will take over. This also means that a new build order for the FPSO will be generated.
The Albacora field, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2030 or later, will produce 120,000 barrels per day of oil and 6 million cubic meters per day of natural gas.
The previous tender for the Albacora field project, which used a lease model, was canceled last year. At that time two companies bid for the project, Norway’s BW Offshore (offering $1.2 billion) and Brazil’s Ocyan (offering $1.7 billion).
After unsuccessful negotiations with BW Offshore, Petrobras attempted to negotiate with Ocyan, but also failed to obtain the desired discount. In the absence of other bidding options, Petrobras decided to terminate the bidding process.
The Albacora field resumption project involves production from the Forno reservoir, located in the pre-salt area of the Campos Basin field. The project will replace two production units currently operating in the area, P-25 and P-31.The Albacora field is located 110 kilometers east of Cape São Tomé on the north coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
In February, Petrobras also canceled plans to lease an FPSO for the Barracuda-Caratinga field resumption project and is preparing to open a new round of bidding by the end of this year. The new tender will also adopt the BOT model.