Dutch floater expert SBM Offshore to announced that it has completed the acquisition of the shares in the lease and operating entities related to FPSOs N’Goma, Saxi Batuque and Mondo from its partner Sonangol EP. Simultaneously, SBM Offshore completed the sale of all its shares in the parent company of the Paenal shipyard in Angola to a subsidiary of Sonangol EP.
The acquisition of the shares from Sonangol EP brings SBM Offshore’s ownership in the entities owning the FPSOs Saxi Batuque and Mondo to 100% and in the entity owning the FPSO N’Goma to 80%. The operating companies in Angola will be wholly owned by SBM Offshore after the acquisition. The total net consideration paid for the equity ownership of the acquired entities by SBM Offshore and including the sale of the parent company of the Paenal shipyard is approximately US$40 million.
In addition, SBM Offshore has signed an MOU with its minority partner (Angola Offshore Services Limited, “AOSL”) in the FPSO N’Goma concerning the purchase by AOSL of 20% of SBM Offshore’s shareholding (80%) in the entity owning the FPSO. This MOU is conditional on the signature of a share purchase agreement and upon several conditions precedent, including consent from clients and lenders, and approval by the various competent authorities.
The FPSO Saxi Batuque is currently deployed in the Saxi Batuque field off Angolan waters, with a capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and a storage capacity of 1.6 million barrels of oil, which is part of ExxonMobil’s Kizomba C project; and the FPSO Mondo is located in the Mondo field, which began production in January 2008 and is currently averages approximately 65,000 barrels of oil per day, and the field is also operated by ExxonMobil.
The N’Goma FPSO has been serving Eni in Angolan waters since 2014, with a capacity of 100,000 bpd of oil, 115 mmscf/d of gas and 120,000 bpd of water injection.
Paenal Shipyard is said to be a joint venture between Sonangol, SBM Offshore and Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering). The shipyard was established in 2007 and has since been producing FPSOs, vessels and offshore infrastructure for major energy companies such as TotalEnergies, Eni, BP and TechnipFMC. Previously, Sonangol, SBM Offshore and Hanwha Ocean held 40%, 30% and 30% stakes in the shipyard, respectively. Upon completion of the deal, Sonangol’s shareholding increased to 70 percent, with Hanwha Ocean retaining its original 30 percent stake.
In related news, not long ago, SBM Offshore announced that it had been awarded a booking contract by TotalEnergies for the hull of an FPSO that will be deployed at its oil project in Block 58 off the coast of Suriname, with a capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day.