The tests, which will involve Floatec’s proprietary extendable draft semi-submersible (EDS) and its deep draft semisub, would represent the first attempt to apply dry-tree technology to the challenges of the pre-salt province.

Companies are eagerly positioning themselves for what is certain to be a lucrative new round of tenders for floating production units to develop the pre-salt.

Bid documents for those tenders are expected to emerge in early September, Upstream reported earlier this month.

Floatec’s wave basin tests will be carried out beginning in September at Lab Oceano’s laboratory, a part of the research and development arm of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the company said in a release.

The EDS will be tested for environments in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico, and for both in-place and extended hull installation cases, Floatec said.

Floatec has been testing several methods to develop the resources buried deep below the ocean floor. The work has been described as a means to provide state-run giant Petrobras with a “toolbox” of development options from which it can make its preferred choices.

Initial studies by Petrobras suggest a need for at least 40 floating production units in the Santos basin pre-salt province.

Houston-based Floatec is a 50:50 joint venture between McDermott and Keppel Fels.