Petrobras picks Solstad vessel for accommodation services

Amid the improving market conditions and increasing demand, the Norwegian offshore vessel owner, Solstad Offshore, has inked a new deal for one of its subsea construction support vessels (CSVs) with the Brazilian oil and gas giant Petrobras, which will allow the vessel to operate offshore Brazil.

Solstad Offshore announced the contract award for the CSV Normand Valiant with Petrobras on Monday, explaining that the charter was for a period of two years firm with the possibility of a two-year extension.

The contract is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2022 and it has a gross value of approximately NOK 350 million (over $39.7 million), including additional services. The charter deal stipulates that the CSV Normand Valiant will provide accommodation services to support production activities on the Brazilian continental shelf.

The 2008-built CSV Normand Valiant – known as Nor Valiant – is equipped with DP 2 from Kongsberg and has a carrying capacity of 3111 mt DWT. The vessel’s length overall (LOA) is 78 meters and its width is 20.4 metres. It can accommodate up to 120 people.

Since ringing in the new year, Solstad has been winning new deals for its vessels while also selling off its fleet with February 2022 being particularly busy on this front. At the beginning of the month, the firm sold three of its AHTS vessels and secured new contracts for two of its PSVs in the UK.

In addition, the offshore vessel owner was awarded multiple contracts for several of its CSVs due to growing demand in the renewable energy sector and increased oil and gas activity. The contracts were awarded for projects in the North Sea, Brazil, and West Africa.

Last week, the company sold two more of its AHTS vessels to a buyer whose identity was not revealed and won contracts within the renewable energy sector for another three CSVs.