Brazil Petrobras Board Approves Tender For 12 Drilling Rigs
Friday May 30th, 2008 / 22h42
RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), or Petrobras, said late Friday that its board approved a tender for 12 deepwater drilling rigs. In a regulatory filing, Petrobras said that the rigs are expected to be delivered by the middle of 2012. However, the lack of local production capacity will force the company to look outside of Brazil for construction of the rigs. The 12 platforms were the first phase of a plan to contract 40 drilling rigs by 2017. The total cost of the program is expected to top $20 billion. Petrobras urgently needs more drilling equipment to explore and produce from its promising new pre-salt oil province off the coast of southeast Brazil. In November, Petrobras estimated recoverable reserves at its Tupi field in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state at up to 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company has also said that test wells in other Santos Basin blocks have confirmed the presence of oil. But drilling in the pre-salt layer is risky and expensive, according to analysts. Oil found in Brazil's pre-salt area lies at a water depth of more than 2,000 meters, as well as under an additional 5,000 meters of sand, rock and salt. Earlier this week, Petrobras announced with great fanfare a $5 billion program to build 146 support vessels. According to Petrobras, the program represents the largest single ship order in the country's history. In an effort to cut costs and stimulate local production, Petrobras has turned to the long-dormant domestic shipbuilding industry, leading to a rebirth in the sector. Brazil was among the world's largest ship-producing countries in the 1980s before a global downturn in the industry saw the local docks shuttered. On Friday, Petrobras said that it expected future drilling rigs and platforms to be constructed at local shipyards. -By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6085; jeff.fick@dowjones.com
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