Petrobras’ Executive Board approved for signature the main contract for building the P-55 platform (assembly of the hull with topside modules), with the Consortium of companies comprising Queiroz Galvão, IESA and UTC Engenharia for a total of US$ 845 million, that will be carried out at the Rio Grande shipyard. The total investment for the construction of the P-55 platform will near $1.65 billion.

P-55 will be installed in the giant Roncador field in the Campos Basin at a water depth of 1,795 meters. The platform is of the semi-submersible type with a production capacity of 180 thousand barrels/day and a compression capacity of 6 million cubic meters/day of natural gas. P-55 will be linked to 11 oil and gas producer wells and 7 water injector wells. Production is scheduled to start in 2011.

The building of P-55 will be entirely executed in Brazil and will have a minimum domestic content of 70% and generate more than 3,500 direct jobs in the city of Rio Grande alone.

Approval was also granted for the signature of the contracts for the construction of the gases dehydration modules with UTC Engenharia, the sulfates removal and gas compression modules with IESA and the acquisition of heat exchangers with Alfa Laval.

Work on building the hull began in August at the Atlântico Sul Shipyard, state of Pernambuco, and the assembly process and the manufacture of the sulfates removal and compression modules will be concluded in the city of Rio Grande (state of Rio Grande do Sul). The main deck girders are being assembled at Usiminas, the manufacture of the main deck nodes at Techlabor and the lower deck nodes at Sadefem.

Some equipment is still being negotiated such as splitters tanks, oil treatment and electricity generation packages.