SBM Offshore sells partial stake in Brazilian FPSO to Chinese player

Netherlands-based SBM Offshore has offloaded a minority stake in a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is working on Petrobras’ giant oil field in the Santos Basin off the coast of Brazil.

The divestment of a 13.5% ownership interest in the special purpose companies related to the lease and operation of the FPSO Sepetiba to China Merchants Financial Leasing (Hong Kong) Holding (CMFL) is related to the announcement on February 10, 2022, when SBM Offshore reached an agreement with the Chinese firm to acquire an interest in the FPSO following its start-up of operations.

The Dutch FPSO player, which is the operator of the FPSO Sepetiba, will remain the majority shareholder with 51% ownership interest. After a 22.5-year lease and operation deal from December 2019 with SBM Offshore, Petrobras chartered the vessel for operations on its Mero field in the Santos Basin, approximately 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The Mero unitized field is operated by Petrobras (38.6%), in partnership with Shell Brasil (19.3%), TotalEnergies (19.3%), CNPC (9.65%), CNOOC (9.65%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) (3.5%), representing the government in the non-contracted area.

With a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) and a compression capacity of up to 12 million cubic meters of gas, the FPSO Sepetiba achieved the first oil in January 2024. The start of production from the second development phase of the Mero field, which is the third largest field in Brazil after Tupi and Búzios, came months after Petrobras welcomed the arrival of the vessel in Brazilian waters. 

SBM Offshore is currently constructing the FPSO Jaguar for ExxonMobil’s Whiptail oilfield development, which is the U.S. energy giant’s sixth project in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana located at a water depth of approximately 2,000 meters.

Last month, the Dutch player completed another FPSO vessel’s final module lifts at Seatrium’s yard in Singapore. This FPSO will work on ExxonMobil’s fourth oil project in the Stabroek block off the coast of Guyana.