By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Aug. 6 -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) extended its current contract 1 year and awarded a new 4-year contract for the deepwater pipelay vessel Seaway Condor, operated by Stolt Offshore SA of Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, UK, officials said Monday.
Under the two contracts, valued at $136 million, the Seaway Condor will continue deepwater pipelay operations off Brazil for at least the next 5 years.
The extension of the existing contract began in June and runs to August 2002, when the new contract starts. There is an optional extension of the new contract in 2006 for another 4 years by mutual agreement, officials said.
Under the new contract, the Seaway Condor will be upgraded to lay flexible flowlines and umbilicals in 2,000 m water depth. Modifications to the ship will be done in Brazil during its routine dry-docking in May 2002, prior to beginning the new contract.
Stolt Offshore has provided deepwater pipelay services in Brazil since 1996 when its Seaway Osprey started a 4-year contract.
"This new contract for the Seaway Condor, which follows a recently awarded 4-year contract from Petrobras for the Seaway Harrier, consolidates our position in Brazil and provides a strong basis for future growth in this region," said Bernard Vossier, CEO.