Altera & Ocyan JV passes FPSO operatorship baton to Karoon

June 5, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Karoon Energy, an ASX-listed international oil and gas exploration and production company, has taken over the operatorship helm from Altera & Ocyan (A&O), a joint venture between Altera Infrastructure and Ocyan, at a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is working on an oil project off the coast of Brazil.

FPSO Cidade de Itajaí; Source: Altera Infrastructure

Following its acquisition of the FPSO Cidade de Itajaí at the end of April 2025, which is deployed at the Baúna project in BM-S-40, Karoon signed a transition services agreement with A&O to ensure continuity of operations and a smooth handover process of the vessel.

The formal transition of the FPSO operatorship took place at the end of May 2026, after an intensive period of internal capacity building for the ASX-listed player, including staff recruitment, contract transfer and establishment of management systems and processes, and the receipt of Brazilian regulatory approvals.

More than 80% of the existing FPSO team is said to have transferred to Karoon and its major maintenance contractor, Gran Services. The transitional services agreement with A&O expired on June 1, 2026, enabling further operating cost optimization for the FPSO owner.

Carri Lockhart, Karoon’s CEO and MD, commented: “2026 has been one of the busiest in Karoon’s history, with more than 700 people engaged in delivering our strategic work scopes, including the FPSO operatorship transition, in a safe manner. This transition of operatorship is a major milestone for Karoon and marks the evolution of the company into a full-scope operator of offshore oil and gas production.

“I would like to sincerely thank our staff and contractors who have worked tirelessly to prepare for, and achieve, this milestone. The FPSO operatorship is strategically important to Karoon, and we are committed to delivering a strong safety performance and reliable operations, which will create value from the Baúna project well into the future.”

The ASX-listed company announced the launch of its Baúna revitalization and life extension projects in August 2025, with forecast expenditure of approximately $55-65 million in 2026 and $80-90 million over the period 2030-2034.

The ongoing maintenance shutdown and flotel campaign work are expected to lead to material improvements in system stability and provide sustained FPSO uptime, within the range of 90 – 95% efficiency.

The Baúna project comprises the Baúna, Piracaba, and Patola fields in concession BM-S-40 offshore Brazil. The FPSO Cidade de Itajaí, which is capable of operating in water depths of up to 1,000 meters, began operating in Brazil in February 2013.

This unit, which was constructed at Singapore’s Jurong shipyard in 1995 and converted in 2012, can produce 80,000 barrels of oil per day and compress 2 million cubic meters of gas a day.