LONDON--U.K.-listed BG Group PLC (BG.LN) said Friday that it and its partners have approved the signature of contracts worth $4.5 billion for the completion of six floating production, storage and offtake vessels that will be used to bring onstream major oil discoveries offshore Brazil. The contracts are for the construction of six topside modules and integration packages, which are oil, gas and water processing plants that sit on top of the storage ships already under construction. The company did not say to whom it has decided to give the contracts. BG and its partners awarded the contract for construction of eight FPSO hulls in November 2010 to Brazil's Engevix Engenharia SA for $3.5 billion. The vessels, the first of their kind to be built in Brazil, will be used to produce oil from the Lula and Guara discoveries. The topsides for the last two vessels will be awarded within the next 18 months, and at least one additional FPSO will be chartered for use on an oil field with different technical requirements, BG said in a statement. "The approval for these contract awards, along with the tender process for an additional international FPSO, demonstrates the close alignment between partners on the fast-track, first-phase delivery plans for these outstanding resources," said BG Group Chief Executive Frank Chapman. BG's main partner in this development is Brazil's national oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR). Spain's Repsol SA (REP.MC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., better known as Sinopec (SNP), and Petrogal Brasil also have stakes. Write to James Herron at james.herron@dowjones.com Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
