MODEC inks operations and maintenance deal for Sangomar FPSO

Japan’s MODEC has signed a contract with Woodside for the operations and maintenance of an FPSO vessel for the Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 project in the Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Offshore Deep oil blocks, located offshore Senegal.

Following the FPSO purchase contract, which was signed between Woodside and MODEC on 10 January 2020 for the supply of the FPSO, MODEC will also be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the FPSO.

The operations and maintenance contract will cover all in-country installation and commissioning activities following which an initial 10-year operations and maintenance term will start, MODEC said on Monday.

Extension options are allowed for every year thereafter up to 10 additional years.

The FPSO will be deployed at the Sangomar field located approximately 100 kilometres south of Dakar, Senegal. The Sangomar Field Development is expected to be Senegal’s first offshore oil development.

Scheduled for delivery in 2023, the FPSO vessel will be permanently moored at a water depth of approximately 780 meters by an external turret mooring system to be supplied by SOFEC, a MODEC group company.

The FPSO will be capable of processing 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 130 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, 145,000 barrels of water injection per day and will have a minimum storage capacity of 1,300,000 barrels of crude oil.

“We are delighted and proud that Woodside awarded us the contract for the operations and maintenance of the memorable first FPSO for Senegalese waters further to another major contract for the supply of this FPSO”, commented Yuji Kozai, President and CEO of MODEC.

In recent years, numerous offshore oil fields have been discovered in West Africa, and MODEC considers this as one of its most important core regions.

MODEC currently operates three FPSOs in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire as well as it has supplied another seven floating production facilities such as FPSO, FSO and Tension Leg Platform (TLP) that have been installed in Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Nigeria.

In related news, Woodside has been increasing its stake in the Sangomar project by exercising its preemption rights.

The latest deal Woodside prevented was the one between FAR and India’s ONGC.

Namely, Woodside earlier in December gave notice exercising its right to pre-empt the sale by FAR to ONGC Videsh of FAR’s entire participating interest in the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) joint venture.