Aker Energy to award Pecan FPSO deal to Yinson

Aker Energy has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Yinson to award a bareboat charter and an operations and maintenance contract for a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel at the Pecan field, offshore Ghana.

The LOI follows a competitive tender and demonstrates Aker Energy’s intention to award the forthcoming bareboat charter and operations and maintenance contract for the FPSO for the planned development of the Pecan field in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block offshore Ghana, Aker Energy said on Friday.

The contracts will have a firm duration of ten years followed by five yearly extension options exercisable by Aker Energy as operator on behalf of the license partners Lukoil, Fueltrade, and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

“We are continuing with our preparations for the Pecan project and awarding an LOI for the future contracts for the FPSO vessel is certainly a key milestone,” said Svein Jakob Liknes, CEO of Aker Energy.

Once developed and installed, the FPSO will be located over and connect to the subsea production system located at approximately 2,400 meters below sea level. Together, this will form the fourth installation to produce oil and gas resources offshore Ghana.

The FPSO will be Yinson’s second vessel to operate in Ghanaian waters, with the first being FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor, operating for Eni since 2017.

“Once in operation, the project will bring significant revenues to the country as well as direct and indirect job opportunities for indigenous companies and individuals,” said Kadijah Amoah, Country Director of Aker Energy in Ghana. ​

In related news, Aker Energy has recently hired Fugro for geotechnical and geophysical survey services on the Pecan field. The surveys will obtain critical seabed and sub-seabed information to facilitate the planning and emplacement of the Pecan subsea infrastructure and the FPSO.

It is also worth reminding that Aker has been in talks with Ocean Yield since last year to use its FPSO Dhirubhai-1 for the project in Ghana. In August 2019, the two companies agreed to extend the option period until the end of 2019.

In its quarterly update on February 12 Ocean Yield said that the option agreement with Aker Energy for the FPSO Dhirubhai-1 expired on December 31, 2019. Discussions are however continuing with regards to potential use of the unit in Ghana, the company said.

Other opportunities are also being evaluated for the vessel, but it is taking more time than earlier envisaged to find a satisfactory solution for the FPSO, the company added.

Ocean Yield’s subsidiary Aker Floating Production has over the last few months been performing the remaining demobilization work in India, consisting of removal of risers, moorings and the subsea buoy. This work was expected to be completed in mid-February.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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