San Francisco: Petrobras has cancelled charters for five offshore oil drilling and production vessels in its ongoing bid to slash costs.
Schahin Petroleo e Gas SA – specialists in drilling and workover services for oil and gas wells – plans to sue Brazil’s state-run oil giant to have the contracts reinstated.
Embroiled in a huge bribery and price-fixing scandal, Petrobras is deep in debt and has seen its position worsen with the slump in oil prices.
If the cancellations goes through Schahin, also a Brazilian company, says it would mean the loss of more than 1,000 related jobs, while creditors and investors would stand to lose more than $4bn.
The five Schahin vessels are drillships Cerrado (61,619 dwt, built 2011), Sertão (61, 619 dwt, built 2012) and Lancer (9,193 dwt, built 1977) and semi-submersible oil production platforms Amazônia and Pantanal. All had been on long-term charters.
