BP reserves FPSO for 10-well project in Angola

Oil and gas major BP has reserved an FPSO vessel from Malaysian operator Yinson for the development of the Palas, Astrea and Juno Oil Fields (PAJ Project) in Block 31, offshore Angola.

Yinson informed on Thursday that, through its subsidiary Yinson Acacia, it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with BP in Angola – as the operator of the Block 31 Contractor Group – for the reservation of Nganhurra, a floating, production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, for use in the proposed 10-well subsea Palas, Astrea and Juno Oil Fields (PAJ Project).

Under the agreement, Yinson will exclusively allocate FPSO Nganhurra to BP for the PAJ Project until 31 December 2022 with an option to extend until 30 June 2023 whilst the parties negotiate a contract to convert, operate, maintain, and lease the FPSO for the PAJ project. The lease and operate contract, which is anticipated to include a 10-year fixed term, is expected to be executed by the end of 2024 subsequent to BP reaching a final investment decision for the project.

Yinson noted it holds an exclusive purchase option for FPSO Nganhurra until 30 June 2023 with its owners, Woodside Energy and Mitsui E&P Australia, with an option for Yinson to extend such exclusive purchase option until 31 December 2023.

Yinson Production Chief Executive Officer, Flemming Grønnegaard, said this agreement emphasises the company’s position as the preferred contractor in executing FPSO redeployment projects, adding: “We have recently completed two successful redeployment projects, which are FPSO Abigail-Joseph and FPSO Helang, and the group is currently engaged in a redeployment delivery for FPSO Atlanta.”

FPSO Nganhurra has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and was built by Samsung in 2006. The FPSO, which operated at the Enfield field in Australia until autumn 2018, is currently laid up outside Labuan, Malaysia.

Earlier this week, Heerema secured its first decommissioning contract in Australia, which includes the integrated engineering, preparation, removal, and transport of the Nganhurra riser turret mooring (RTM). The contractor will lift the structure onto a barge and transport it to Henderson or other suitable port for dismantling, and recycling or reuse.