The following graph is taken from The Global Perspectives: Subsea Report 2006-2010 available from Infield Systems Ltd, and looks at the distribution of the number of trees expected to be brought on-stream in Latin America over the next five years. From the graphic you can see that ultra-deepwater is clearly going to be a significant development with 40% of expected future wells forecast to be brought on-stream at depths greater than 1500 m. Whereas only 12% of subsea wells will be brought on-stream in shallow waters (<500 m).
There are major platform developments expected to come on-stream in ultra deep waters developing the reservoirs on the Albacora Leste, Marlim Leste, Marlim South, and Roncador fields which will require approximately 100 wells, a third of which will be injection compared to two-thirds production wells. The majority of these wells will be developed with Petrobras as the main operator.
This level of activity has an impact on the contracting community as Petrobras seemingly prefers to hold vessels on long-term charters to guarantee vessel availability. This policy provides a double-edged sword for contractors as while long-term contracts provide stability it also removes the opportunity to play the spot-market and thus chase the higher day rates which are increasing becoming available around the world.
-Howard Wright, Senior Analyst
Infield Systems
