BW Energy (Oslo: BWE) has signed a deal with Saipem (MI: SPM) to buy an FPSO which is currently working in Bazilian waters for Petrobras.
This news comes one day after Petrobras sold its total stake in two sets of deep-water post-salt offshore concessions- Golfinho and Camarupim clusters to the Oslo Stock Exchange-listed oil and gas E&P company.
The acquisition of the FPSO, Cidade de Vitória, is expected to bring an additional 9,000 barrels of oil per day to BW Energy from early 2023.
The vessel has been working on the Golfinho field, located in the Golfinho cluster in the Espírito Santo Basin, since 2007.
Last Friday BW Energy confirmed that it signed an agreement to acquire the FPSO from the Italian-based Saipem for a cash consideration of $73 million.
The acquisition is subject to fulfilment or waiver of condition precedents with the expected closing and takeover for the FPSO in Q1 of next year.
The $73m deal is set to be paid in stages with $25m due at closing, $13m due at the time of the FPSO takeover and a further $35m paid in 18 monthly instalments following the vessel changing hands.
BW Energy believes that the Cidade de Vitória deal will accelerate the build-up of a local operating organisation in Brazil, potentially increasing stakeholder engagement before the Maromba development.
The FPSO has a storage capacity of 1.6million barrels and can produce over 100,000 barrels of oil per day with an additional capacity for gas production and compression. This positions BW Energy to increase its production in the Golfinho cluster with “ample oil and gas handling capacity to accommodate the upside from planned future developments.”
Chief executive of BW Energy, Carl Arnet commented: “Establishing a solid working relationship with Brazilian authorities and other stakeholders is key to a successful Maromba development. Having two operating assets in Brazil will create several synergies and make us an attractive local employer.”
The Golfinho cluster has two wells for gas, two for water injection and a further six for oil production that is connected with the Cidade de Vitória vessel.