Petrobras Approves SBM’s Proposal in Sergipe Deepwater FPSO Tender

Nov. 25 – Petrobras’ Bidding Committee announced that it has approved SBM Offshore’s proposal in the tender for contracting the Sergipe Deepwater FPSO (SEAP) vessels. The approval was given during the proposal effectiveness evaluation phase. It’s worth noting that SBM Offshore offered the lowest prices in the FPSO tender. The Dutch company submitted a total bid of US$4.1 billion for SEAP II and US$4.3 billion for SEAP I.

The bidding for the SEAP II contract also included two other contenders: the Indian company Shapoorji offered a total bid of US$4.3 billion, while the Japanese company Modec proposed US$5.2 billion. In the race for the SEAP I contract, SBM had only one competitor: Shapoorji proposed a total price of US$4.6 billion.

The contracting method will be Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT), in which the contractor is responsible for the design, construction, assembly, and operation of the asset for an initial period defined in the contract. Subsequently, the operation will be transferred to Petrobras. The process foresees the bidding for a firm unit for SEAP 2 and an option to purchase a second similar FPSO, with application planned for SEAP 1.

The units will have the capacity to process 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and up to 12 million m3 of gas per day, with the gas specified and exported directly for sale, without the need for additional treatment onshore.

Expected Start of Operation: The SEAP II unit is scheduled to begin operations in 2030, while peak operations for the entire project are scheduled for 2030.

Infrastructure: The project includes the construction of a gas pipeline. The project involves a 134 km pipeline (111 km offshore and 23 km onshore) to export the gas directly, without additional treatment onshore. Petrobras’ approval of the proposal is a crucial step towards finalizing the contracts, which should boost the local and national economy, generating thousands of direct and indirect jobs, especially in the states of Sergipe and Alagoas.

Local Content: Petrobras requires the winning company to partner with Brazilian companies to achieve the level of local content stipulated in the tender (30% and 40%).