BRAZIL – OFFSHORE SUPPORT VESSELS

The Petrobas Contract Model

---

Brazil’s OSV contracts are structured differently from most global markets. Contracts are awarded on two factors: day rate and declared fuel consumption.

At tender, vessel owners must define expected fuel usage across operating modes – often for contracts exceeding four years. Performance is reviewed quarterly. Fuel is fixed at bid. Performance is not.

Why Fuel Performance Degrades

---

Over the life of a contract, fuel consumption typically increases due to weather and sea conditions, equipment degradation, hull fouling, and changes in operating profile. This creates a growing gap between declared and actual performance. Engine efficiency naturally declines as components accumulate hours, and without active monitoring, these losses often go undetected until they have already triggered a penalty event. Small deviations that appear manageable in year one can compound into significant financial exposure by year three or four. Under Petrobas terms, that gap becomes recurring financial exposure.

Every Decision Impacts Revenue

---

Petrobras contracts limit maintenance flexibility, typically allowing vessels just one optional maintenance day per month – and that day comes without day rate. This creates a difficult tradeoff that compounds over the life of a contract:

• While one maintenance day is granted per month, no day rate is paid.
• Deferring maintenance increases mechanical failure risk.
• Failures cost significantly more than planned downtime.

Fueltrax addresses this directly. By providing early visibility into performance changes, reducing engine load, and slowing wear accumulation, Fueltrax shifts maintenance from reactive to proactive. With day rates often exceeding $45,000 per day, every operational decision carries real financial weight – and Fueltrax improves that balance by extending maintenance intervals, reducing unplanned downtime, and increasing total operational days over the life of the contract.

The Cost of Every Decision

---

Fueltrax combines onboard measurement with Active Management, monitoring fuel flow, engine
and generator load, and operational behavior across all operating modes in real time. Rather than
simply collecting data, the system actively identifies excess fuel consumption, equipment operating
outside optimal ranges, unnecessary runtime, and early indicators of degradation before they
become costly problems.
Fueltrax then works directly with vessel crews and shoreside teams — not just remotely — to continuously optimize performance across the full contract term. This combination of hardware precision and human engagement is what distinguishes Active Management from passive monitoring.

Typical Results

---

• 15–20% reduction in fuel consumption
• Significant maintenance savings through reduced wear and runtime
• Improved alignment between declared and actual performance

Financial Outcomes

---

• Reduced fuel penalty exposure — More stable, predictable consumption reduces risk during quarterly reconciliation.
• Deferred maintenance costs — Reduced engine runtime slows wear and allows for hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance costs to be deferred every year.
• Increased revenue — Greater uptime and fewer operational interruptions protect day rate income and increase total billable days.

In Petrobras contracts, these combined impacts can represent hundreds of thousands to over one million dollars annually per vessel — driven by fuel performance, maintenance timing, and uptime.

More Stories