ONGC prolonging Bumi Armada FPSO’s stay off India

Malaysian FPSO operator Bumi Armada will be getting an extension of a charter contract for one of its floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels working for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) offshore India.

Bumi Armada recently revealed that its jointly controlled entity, SP Armada Oil Exploration Private Limited (SPAOEPL), had received a notification from ONGC about the latter’s intention to extend the charter hire of the FPSO Armada Sterling II for one year from the expiration of the present firm time-charter. The value of the contract extension is approximately $43 million.

Based on the original contract signed on 13 March 2013, the FPSO was hired by ONGC to operate in its Cluster-7 fields located about 210 km off the west coast of Mumbai under a nine-year firm charter, with seven annual extension options. The original nine-year firm time-charter is set to expire on 7 March 2024.

ONGC’s Cluster-7 encompasses several fields including the B-192, B-45, and WO-24 marginal fields, all in Bombay High in water depths of 80-88 metres. While B-192 is an oil and gas field, B-45 and WO-24 are gas fields. The FPSO Armada Sterling II, which was converted into an FPSO in 2014, produces 30,000 barrels of oil per day and yields 1.8 million cubic metres of natural gas.

SPAOEPL is a joint venture between Bumi Armada and Shapoorji Pallonji Energy Private Limited (formerly known as Shapoorji Pallonji Oil and Gas Private Limited) of India.