Petrobras Awards Subsea7 a $1.25 Billion SURF Contract for Sepia 2 Pre-Salt Development at 2,170 Meters in Santos Basin, Brazil

Petrobras has awarded Norwegian subsea contractor Subsea7 a "supermajor" contract valued at more than $1.25 billion to supply and install subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines for the Sepia 2 field development in Brazil's pre-salt Santos Basin, the company confirmed on April 9, 2026. The award positions Subsea7 as a cornerstone contractor in one of South America's most capital-intensive offshore expansion programs.

The contract covers engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and pre-commissioning of subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines (SURF) for 17 wells at Sepia 2, including two wells carried over from the Sepia 1 project. The scope also includes one gas export line requiring 18 risers. Located approximately 280 kilometres southeast of Rio de Janeiro at a water depth of 2,170 metres, Sepia 2 sits in the deep pre-salt play that has driven Brazil's emergence as one of the world's fastest-growing crude producers.

"This award strengthens Subsea7's portfolio of projects in Brazil and reinforces our established relationship with Petrobras in the pre-salt," said Yann Cottart, Senior Vice-President at Subsea7. Project management and engineering will begin immediately at Subsea7's offices in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and Sutton, with offshore installation operations scheduled to commence in 2029.

FPSO P-85 to Anchor Production at Sepia 2

The Subsea7 SURF award complements a separate contract Petrobras issued to Singapore-based Seatrium for two all-electric floating production, storage, and offloading vessels, including the P-85 earmarked for Sepia 2. That deal, valued at $8.16 billion, calls for the P-85 to achieve a production capacity of 225,000 barrels per day, with first oil projected in late 2029 or early 2030. The vessels will incorporate technology designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent per barrel relative to conventional FPSOs.

The SURF infrastructure Subsea7 will install connects the wellheads directly to the FPSO, forming the critical link between reservoir and export. With 17 production and injection wells feeding a single platform, efficient riser and flowline layout is essential to hitting nameplate capacity targets.

Brazil Pre-Salt Output on the Rise

Sepia 2 is part of a broader push by Petrobras to expand pre-salt output from the Santos Basin, which already accounts for the majority of Brazil's roughly 3.6 million barrels per day of total crude production. Petrobras reported a net profit of $19.6 billion for full-year 2025, underpinned by sustained production growth across its pre-salt portfolio.

The Santos Basin hosts several major producing fields, including Buzios, Tupi, Mero, Atapu, and Sepia. Eni holds interests in several pre-salt blocks alongside Petrobras, and international majors including Shell and Chevron have expanded their Brazilian portfolios as deep-water economics have improved at current commodity prices.

With WTI holding near $95.50 per barrel, deepwater development economics are highly supportive, encouraging operators and contractors alike to lock in long-duration commitments. The Petrobras-Subsea7 contract runs through at least the early 2030s when Sepia 2 reaches plateau rates.

Subsea7's Strategic Position in Latin America

Subsea7 has maintained a strong operational footprint in Brazil for more than two decades, building out dedicated fabrication capacity at its Ubu spoolbase in the state of Espirito Santo. Previous Brazilian contracts have included SURF scopes at the Mero-3 and Buzios fields, also in the pre-salt Santos Basin.

The Sepia 2 award, classified as "supermajor" under Subsea7's contract-size taxonomy, is among the largest single SURF contracts the company has booked in the region. Subsea7 categorizes contracts above $1.25 billion as supermajor, reflecting the scale of engineering and offshore installation required to tie back deepwater wells at pressures exceeding 400 bar.

Brazil's pre-salt ambitions continue to generate significant order flow for subsea contractors. Petrobras's five-year capital plan calls for sustained drilling campaigns across Santos Basin fields, with SURF and umbilical demand expected to remain elevated well into the 2030s as the operator targets production above four million barrels per day.

Sources: Subsea7 press release; World Oil; GlobeNewswire