Brazil's state oil firm Petrobras will be in the market next year for bids on the construction of 6 new offshore oil platforms.

The troubled company – the most indebted oil firm in the world and at the hub of a huge corruption scandal – only last week announced a massive scaling back of its capital expenditure plan for the period 2017-2021.

Solange Guedes, director of exploration and production at Petrobras, told Brazilian newspaper O Globo that the six rigs could cost up to US$6bn.

The tender is open to all-comers as in recent years Brazil's government has lifted a requirement that it deal only with Brazilian contractors.