BW Offshore wraps up much-anticipated sale of Nigerian FPSO

Norway’s FPSO operator BW Offshore has completed the sale of another floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is working at an oil field offshore Nigeria.

After BW Offshore marked the FPSO Abo for sale, the divestment process was previously expected to close in 1H 2023. According to the Norwegian player, the FPSO was sold to STAC Marine Offshore Limited, a member of the Nigerian Transport Group (STAC) for $20 million on Friday, 15 September 2023.

As part of the transaction, the duo entered into a bareboat charter to allow for uninterrupted operations during a transition period of a maximum of two months. Upon the expiry of the bareboat charter, STAC will assume responsibility for the operations of the unit. The FPSO Abo comes with a storage capacity of 930,000 barrels of oil, an oil treatment capacity of up to 45,000 bopd, a water injection capacity of 30,000 bopd, and a gas compression capacity of 48,4 mmscfd.

Previously known as the Gray Warrior, a Suezmax tanker constructed in 1976, the vessel underwent conversion at Keppel Shipyard before beginning its operations on the Abo field in April 2003. The FPSO Abo recently reached a milestone, having completed two decades of service with Nigerian Agip Exploration, a subsidiary of Eni, at the Abo field. BW Offshore claims this achievement underscores its “enduring contribution to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.”

Located in the OML 125 license some 40 kilometres off the Nigerian coast on the western edge of the Niger Delta, at a water depth of 550 to 1,100 metres, the Abo field covers an area of 1,983 km² (490,010 acres). It contains light sweet crude oil, typically 39° to 41° API, and natural gas.

With three fields – Abo, Abo North and Okodo – the license encompasses eight producing wells, two water injectors and two gas injectors. These wells are tied back to the FPSO Abo. Agip is the operator with 85 per cent working interest, while Oando Energy Resources holds the remaining 15 per cent.

BW Offshore is working on expanding the niche oil and gas segment by redeploying existing FPSOs and divesting non-core assets. The company already sold multiple FPSOs, including Sendje Berge, Espoir Ivoirien, BW Athena, BW Opportunity, Cidade de São Vicente, and BW Joko Tole. In addition, the FPSO operator expects the recycling of the FPSO Petróleo Nautipa late in 2023.

The company is also continuing to make progress on the construction of an FPSO, which is destined to work on a gas field offshore Australia. Aside from this, BW Offshore recently signed a new $200 million three-and-a-half-year facility, refinancing its existing senior secured credit facility for another FPSO, which is carrying out activities in the UK sector of the North Sea.