More time for FPSO sale to go through as Murphy Oil prolongs BW Offshore’s US gig

Houston-based oil and gas player Murphy Oil Corporation has lengthened the current deal for a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) working at its asset in the Gulf of America, formerly the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The extension provides the U.S. firm with the time required for the vessel acquisition to be wrapped up.

BW Offshore and Murphy Oil have inked a short-term extension agreement, maintaining current terms for the FPSO BW Pioneer until March 25, 2025, to facilitate the completion of administrative processes necessary for finalizing the sale of this unit.

The U.S. player believes the acquisition of the vessel will unlock a reduction in annual operating costs of approximately $60 million once the firm gets its hands on the unit for the gross purchase price of $125 million, subject to customary closing adjustments.

The FPSO BW Pioneer works at the Cascade field in Walker Ridge 206 and 250 and the Chinook field in Walker Ridge 469 and 425 within the Gulf of America. Once the unit changes hands, BW Offshore will keep providing operations and maintenance (O&M) services under a new five-year reimbursable contract.

This FPSO has been in service since its conversion in 2009, which was done at Keppel Shipyard. The unit has a storage capacity of approximately 600,000 barrels of oil and a processing capacity of around 80,000 barrels of oil per day.

Murphy Oil is working on boosting its hydrocarbon portfolio in other regions, including Vietnam, where it recently made an oil discovery in the Cuu Long Basin and selected a joint venture between PTSC and Yinson Production to provide, charter, operate, and maintain a floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit destined for deployment in the same country.

Meanwhile, BW Offshore is also busy with asset expansion, as illustrated by a naming ceremony for its newbuild FPSO enriched with energy-efficient technologies to curb CO2 emissions and expected to be put in operation off the coast of Australia in 2025.