Yinson Production bids welcome to K Line as its new partner in Brazilian FPSO

Yinson Production, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based energy infrastructure and technology company Yinson Holdings, has wrapped up the sale of a minority stake in a floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel working on Petrobras’ revitalization project in Campos Basin offshore Brazil. As a result, Japan’s shipping player Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has become the firm’s new partner.

Yinson Production has completed the sale of an 11.8% stake in Yinson Boronia Consortium, which fully owns the FPSO Anna Nery, for a total cash consideration of $49 million to K Line through a private sale transaction, first announced in July 2020.

Markus Wenker, Chief Financial Officer of Yinson Production, commented: “We are delighted to welcome K Line as a new shareholder in FPSO Anna Nery. This transaction marks another milestone in our long-standing strategic partnership with K Line and reflects their deep understanding of the sector, as well as their confidence in Yinson Production’s excellence as a leading independent owner and operator of FPSOs globally.”

The sale, which comes after the final acceptance of the FPSO Anna Nery last year and the refinancing earlier this year, enables K Line to become the second strategic investor in the FPSO Anna Nery, following Sumitomo Corporation with an equity stake of 25%. Yinson Production retains a controlling equity stake of approximately 63.2% in this FPSO.

The Malaysian player sees the FPSO Anna Nery as a key part of the revitalization of Petrobras’ Marlim field in the Campos basin off the coast of Brazil. The FPSO, which achieved its first oil in May 2023, has a production capacity of 70,000 bopd and 142 mmscfd, and an estimated contract value of $5.5 billion over a 25-year firm charter period, until 2048.

The FPSO Anna Nery is the first of two FPSOs for the Marlim and Voador revitalization project, which is expected to expand the oil and gas production to more than 150,000 boepd and contribute to the overall boost in the Campos Basin production. This unit and the second one for the project, the FPSO Anita Garibaldi, were envisioned to be connected to 75 wells, replacing the previous nine platforms: P-18, P-19, P-20, P-26, P-32, P-33, P-35, P-37 and P-47.

Michitomo Iwashita, Management Executive Officer of K Line, remarked: “We are pleased to have successfully participated in the FPSO Anna Nery project. It is with great pride that we take this important step towards further growth and expansion in our business, and our collaboration with Yinson Production establishes a strong foundation for achieving long-term results. We are excited and committed to achieving success throughout this project together with Yinson Production.”

According to Yinson Production, the sale further strengthens its partnership with Sumitomo and K Line, as both are part of a consortium that owns 26% of the equity in the FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor in Ghana, aside from their equity stakes in the FPSO Anna Nery.

“Partnerships like this are central to our strategy optimising capital efficiency as we continue to grow our platform, creating significant value for all our stakeholders,” added Wenker.

With a fleet of nine vessels and an orderbook of approximately $22 billion until 2048, Yinson Production, which is present in ten countries, is seen as a top-tier FPSO contractor. The firm underlines that its zero emissions FPSO concept is paving the way for the decarbonization of the FPSO industry.  

Recently, another of the company’s FPSOs started working for Petrobras in the pre-salt Campos Basin offshore Brazil.

Petrobras, whose 2024-2028 strategic plan outlines a $102 billion investment, describes oil and gas as drivers of growth, which will propel and fund the energy transition to greener sources of supply, thus, the Brazilian player plans to deploy 14 new FPSO vessels over the next five years.