BW Offshore has closed the sale of its Espoir Ivoirien FPSO for $20 million, it announced, following a string of contract extensions.
Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) operates the Baobab and Espoir fields, on which the FPSO sits. Tullow Oil also has a 21.33% stake in the project.
BW Offshore said it would provide operations and maintenance (O&M) work for up to five months.
Tullow announced today that it was “considering all options” in regards to interest in the Espoir field. “No formal commitments have been made,” it said. The statement said its capital allocation strategy was to focus on its assets with highest returns and to maximise cash flow.
CNR produces the East and West Espoir to the FPSO, around 60 km southwest of Abidjan. Another FPSO, operated by Modec, is on the Baobab field, around 8 km south of Espoir. Espoir began producing in 2002 and Baobab in 2005.
Tullow, earlier this year, said remediation work was under way on the Espoir FPSO this year. The partners are also planning to acquire 4D seismic on the licence, to support infill drilling.
Tullow expects the operator to carry out new drilling in 2025. The plans is for seven infill wells, two producers on West Espoir and two producers and three injectors on East Espoir.
An accident occurred on the FPSO in January 2021, with a leak of hydrocarbons into a tank that was being inspected. This led to two deaths.
BW Offshore said the accident had driven it to create Project Evolve, “which aims to address the necessary changes to prevent future accidents and major incidents”. As a result of the work, the company said it had created “robust new requirements and work processes”.
The company took a $21.4mn impairment on the FPSO in 2021.