Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has reportedly failed in its second attempt to terminate a drillship contract with the Brazilian drilling contractor Petroserv.
According to an article in O Globo last week, Petrobras has been working on terminating the drilling contract with Ventura Petróleo and Commodore Marine, two Petroserv subsidiaries that operate the drillship NS-29 Carolina.
However, Appeal Court Judge Luciano Rinaldi, of the 7th Civil Division of the Rio de Janeiro State Appellate Court, confirmed the injunction granted to Ventura and Commodore by the court of first instance.
The judge maintained, provisionally, the validity period of the contract until the matter is judged by the full 7th Civil Division court
As a result, the O’ Globo article claims, the contract will be maintained at $250,000 per day. The ten-year contract became effective in 2011. Following the article, Brazilian authorities have asked Petrobras if the content of the article is true, and if so “why such information was not deemed to constitute a material fact?”
Petrobras said: “The decision in question does not represent a defeat for the company, but only a postponement of the analysis of the supersedeas motion filed by Petrobras. The Appeal Court Judge Rapporteur did not examine the merits of the matter, but will certainly come to a decision regarding the injunction request shortly after the opposing party has delivered its case.”
“Consequently, the company believes that said decision published in the media does not constitute a material fact under the terms of the applicable legislation. Petrobras will continue to strongly defend its rights.”
While no details have been disclosed into why Petrobras was terminating the contract, it has been known for some time now that the company is trying to slash costs wherever possible, including the terminations of drilling rig contracts.
Offshore Energy Today Staff