Ceona Chartering (UK) Limited (“Ceona”) and Odebrecht Oil & Gas S.A. (“OOG”) have entered into an agreement to deliver subsea construction services to Petrobras utilising Ceona’s new construction vessel, the Polar Onyx, as a pipelay support vessel (“PLSV”).

The contract for the Polar Onyx’s first project was signed on the 16th of December 2013 in Rio de Janeiro at Petrobras’s office and lays out a work schedule due to commence in May 2014, with Ceona operating in partnership with OOG.The vessel will work as part of the expanding Petrobras fleet of PLSVs in deep and ultra-deep waters offshore Brazil, installing and recovering flexible risers, flowlines and umbilicals in depths of up to 2,200 metres, and the vessel will be in operation with Petrobras for a firm period of 12 months.

The Polar Onyx, on charter from GC Rieber Shipping, is being built to the highest standard for dynamic positioning DP3, and is equipped with a 250t AHC offshore crane. It will have a 275t vertical lay system, situated over the moon pool, and is capable of installing flexible pipes and umbilicals to 3,000m water depth. The vessel is designed to operate in the SURF/Construction/IRM market, with high capacity for flexible pipe loads.

Under the partnership, OOG will handle the Brazilian Service Contract while Ceona manages the vessel and the delivery of subsea services.

Mark Preece, Executive VP Commercial and Business Development at Ceona, commented: “We’re delighted and honoured to have the confidence of one of the most experienced oil companies in deep water worldwide. It places the bar high for us as the Polar Onyx will work on deep water flexible and umbilical installation projects for Petrobras in Brazil. The vessel will be used at her full potential and our teams are ensuring that we will be ready to deliver safely and efficiently. We have a strong partnership with OOG, and Ceona intends to deliver subsea installation services of the highest quality in the market.”

Renato Bastos, Projects Director Subsea at OOG, commented: “This award represents a remarkable achievement for us and an unparalleled opportunity to serve and contribute with our client Petrobras in bringing new fields on stream and reaching their production goals. It is a proof of confidence we are very proud and honoured with, and we strongly believe that, through our project management, engineering and operation capabilities, a solid partnership with Ceona allied to the deployment of a high-standard asset like the Polar Onyx we have the key elements in hands to deliver a safe and successful project.”

OOG provides integrated and customized solutions for the upstream oil industry in Brazil and globally. Its services comprise design engineering, project management, and integrated service delivery to offshore drilling rigs and production platforms, including in deep water and the pre-salt.