SBM Offshore taking over Brazilian FPSO while MISC grabs Malaysian one as stakes in two units change hands

Netherlands-based FPSO operator SBM Offshore has made arrangements to exchange ownership interests related to two floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels with Malaysia’s shipping giant MISC Berhad (MISC), an owner and operator of offshore floating and energy-related maritime solutions and services.

Thanks to the share purchase agreements the duo signed, the Dutch player will acquire MISC’s entire effective equity interest in the lease and operating entities related to the FPSO Espirito Santo, which is working in a water depth of 1,789 meters at the BC 10 field in Brazil’s Campos Basin offshore Vitoria for Shell do Brasil, a subsidiary of the UK-headquartered energy giant Shell.

Originally built in 1975 as a double-sided, single bottom very large crude carrier (VLCC), the ABS-classed vessel was converted into an FPSO in 2009. With a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), this unit comes with a water injection capacity of 75,000 barrels of water per day (bwpd), gas production of 50 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), a total storage capacity of 2 million barrels (bbls), a gas lift of 30 (MMScfd), and a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 268,865 metric ton (MT).

Aside from bringing a stake in the Brazilian FPSO into its ownership portfolio, SBM Offshore arranged for the full divestment of its effective equity interest in the lease and operating entities of the FPSO Kikeh to MISC, which will take over the vessel working for Murphy Sabah Oil in a water depth of 1,350 meters at the Kikeh deepwater field in Block K offshore Sabah, Malaysia.

The 1974-built single-hull, external turret VLCC was repurposed into an FPSO in 2007. This FPSO, which has a production capacity of 120,000 bopd, is capable of water injection of 260,000 bwpd, gas production of 150 MMscfd, total storage capacity of 2 million bbls, a gas lift of 141 MMScfd, and a DWT of 273,409 MT.

While highlighting the deals’ ability to further its efforts to maintain “focus and excellence” in its operating portfolio, SBM Offshore points out that these agreements remain subject to several conditions precedent and approval by various competent authorities.

The Dutch player has won several new contracts over the past few months, including the assignment for the construction of a floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit destined to work at Woodside’s deepwater oil project located 30 km south of the Mexico-U.S. maritime border.

Following a $250 million term loan facility SBM Offshore secured to finance the construction of the FPSO Jaguar thanks to a work assignment with ExxonMobil, the firm also secured a hull reservation with TotalEnergies for an FPSO unit, which will be deployed at its oil project in Block 58 off the coast of Suriname.

On the other hand, MISC has not been twiddling its thumbs either, as the Malaysian giant unveiled a type of floating unit it described as the world’s first future-ready newbuild floating production storage and offloading (NBFPSO) vessel in May 2024.

Alongside multiple other business opportunities the firm is involved in, it also inked a new deal with Petronas CCS Ventures and Japan’s shipping major Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) to establish a joint venture company to acquire and own liquified carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers.

Meanwhile, one of MISC’s partners in this joint venture, MOL, has boosted its ownership share in MODEC, enabling it to convert the firm into an equity-method affiliate in pursuit of further growth in offshore businesses during the energy transition era.