Costly new technology is designed to replace flexibles struggling to cope with high levels of contaminants on the Tupi and Buzios pre-salt fields

Petrobras has entered exclusive negotiations with a leading subsea services provider for the contracting of a pioneering titanium riser solution to serve a pair of giant pre-salt fields in the prolific Santos basin.

The Brazilian state-controlled company offered an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract designed to replace old and potentially compromised flexible pipes in the Buzios and Tupi fields with more resistant rigid risers made of titanium.

Industry sources told Upstream that Italy’s Saipem edged out arch-rivals TechnipFMC and Subsea7 and is well-positioned to secure the coveted contract — pegged at about $1 billion — if talks with Petrobras progress in the right direction.

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