SBM Offshore pulling out of Equatorial Guinea with FPSO divestment

Netherlands-based SBM Offshore, a provider of the design, construction, installation, and operation of offshore floating facilities, has struck a deal with Compania Nacional de Petroleo de Guinea Ecuatorial (GEPetrol), Equatorial Guinea’s national oil company (NOC), to bid goodbye to a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit, which will enable it to take its leave from the African country.

Thanks to a share purchase agreement with GEPetrol, SBM Offshore will dispose of its full equity interest in the lease and operating entities of the FPSO Aseng. The Dutch giant’s exit from Equatorial Guinea is set to take place after an operational transition phase, which is expected to last up to 12 months.

While explaining that the sale of its participation in this FPSO is in line with its strategy to rationalize its lease & operate portfolio, the company highlighted that the agreement remains subject to several conditions precedent and approvals.

The FPSO Aseng began first oil production in November 2011 on the Aseng field, which is located in approximately 1,000 meters of water within Block I offshore Equatorial Guinea. The initial firm commitment was for a period of 15 years, with provisions for further extensions up to five years.

The FPSO contract was signed in October 2009, with the start of the charter planned for 2012. SBM Offshore formed a joint venture with GEPetrol for the ownership and operation of the FPSO Aseng, with the Dutch firm holding a 60% share, leaving the NOC with the remaining 40%. However, the state-owned player will now be able to take over SBM Offshore’s stake.

With processing capacity for 120,000 barrels of liquids per day, including 80,000 barrels of oil and injection capacity of up to 150,000 barrels per day of water, as well as handling 170 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, the unit has storage capacity for 1.6 million barrels of oil, including up to 500,000 barrels of condensate.

This divestment comes months after SBM Offshore sold the FPSO Liza Destiny to ExxonMobil, which also bought two more units working at the Stabroek block, including the FPSO Prosperity, which the U.S. giant acquired a year after purchasing the FPSO Liza Unity.

Recently, the Dutch firm confirmed the mooring of the FPSO One Guyana at the Stabroek block. The first oil is anticipated later this year.