The firm period of the contract is nine years, followed by a maximum of six one-year options.
Prosafe will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and operation of the FPSO. The FPSO is expected to be arriving in the field in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The vessel will be designed for a water depth of maximum 1 500 meters and will have a spread mooring arrangement. The conversion will be based on a VLCC sized vessel currently owned by Prosafe, and will have a gas compression capacity of 353 000 mmscfd and a process facility of 35 000 bfpd. The oil storage capacity will be 700 000 barrels.
Prosafe sees the award as an important strategic achievement and a confirmation of the company's strong technical capabilities. Petrobras is a major client within the market for leased FPSOs, and Prosafe is proud to be selected as the supplier of the large gas FPSO unit. The award is the fourth FPSO conversion project that Prosafe has secured in less than 15 months. These four contracts, including option periods, have increased the order backlog with more than USD 2.5 billion.
The market for FPSOs remains strong, with a good outlook also for the coming years. Including the Petrobras contract, Prosafe has commenced two new FPSO conversion projects during the fourth quarter of 2006. The company has additional project capacity, and could start a third project early 2007, and a fourth project in the second half of the year.
Prosafe is the world's leading owner and operator of semi-submersible service rigs and a major owner and operator of floating production and storage vessels outside the North Sea. Operating profit reached USD 103.6 million in 2005. The company operates globally and employs approx. 900 people, and is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. Prosafe is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with ticker code PRS. For more information, please refer to www.prosafe.com.
Stavanger, 13 December 2006
For further information please contact:
Arne Austreid, President and CEO
Phone no: +47 51 64 25 81 / +47 900 77 334
Bjørn Henriksen, Exec. Vice President and CFO
Phone: +47 51 64 25 30 / +47 902 52 480