BW Energy ties up loose ends for acquisition of FPSO being redeployed at Brazilian field

Business & Finance

May 3, 2024, by Melisa Čavčić

Norway’s FPSO operator BW Offshore has brought the sale of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel to an end, thanks to BW Energy upholding its end of the bargain. This FPSO is destined for redeployment at a field off the coast of Brazil.

After BW Energy made up its mind to proceed with the Maromba development project offshore Brazil, the firm inked an agreement in April 2022 to buy the laid-up FPSO Polvo from BW Offshore for a price tag of $50 million with a plan to upgrade and redeploy it on the field.

The oil and gas company paid $30 million upon the vessel transfer date, with the remaining $20 million provided as a seller’s credit by the Norwegian FPSO operator. As BW Offshore has received the remaining $20 million plus interest, the firm has confirmed the closing of the FPSO sale.

The FPSO Polvo, originally built for operation in Brazil’s Polvo field, completed 14 years of production before being demobilized in 2021. Following the acquisition by BW Energy, the vessel is currently set to undergo refurbishment in China, preparing for its forthcoming redeployment at the Maromba field.

Following the acquisition of interest from Petrobras and Chevron for a total of $115 million, BW Energy entered the Maromba project in 2019, and the development plan for the field is based on an initial three-well drilling campaign with planned first oil in 2025 and a second campaign with a further three wells in 2027.

The field’s total oil production at peak is anticipated to be between 30-40,000 barrels per day. With 1.2 million barrels of storage capacity, the FPSO Polvo will have a total liquid capacity of 85,000 barrels per day, an oil production capacity of 65,000 barrels per day, and a water treatment capacity of 75,000 barrels per day.

The completion of the sale of the FPSO Polvo comes shortly after BW Offshore removed another FPSO from its fleet, which is set to be recycled at Baijnath Melaram ship recycling facility in India.