BW Offshore gains newbuild and secondhand FPSO to expand fleet

BW Opal’s completion followed other milestones for BW Offshore in May.

FPSO Nganhurra was added to the fleet and BW Offshore seeks to redeploy this asset on another offshore oil project. BW Offshore said its agreement to purchase this 2006-built FPSO included a limited upfront payment, with additional considerations contingent upon the successful redeployment of this vessel before June 2027.

“Acquisition of the FPSO Nganhurra represents a strategic decision to capitalise on a compelling market opportunity,” said BW Offshore chief executive Marco Beenen. “Given the limited availability of suitable FPSOs for redeployment, securing this unit places BW Offshore in a strong, competitive position.”

Nganhurra was operated offshore Western Australia on the Enfield project until 2018 and was later laid up in Malaysia. It has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (b/d) and a storage capacity of 900,000 barrels, with a turret mooring system for operations across varied offshore conditions.

“FPSO Nganhurra will have minimal lay-up costs and presents limited downside risk from recycling, ensuring prudent capital management while we assess redeployment options,” BW Offshore said.

FPSO handover

Also in May, BW Offshore handed over operations and maintenance (O&M) on FPSO BW Adolo to BW Energy for its Dussafu production hub in Gabon. Under an amended bareboat charter, BW Offshore retains ownership of this 2018-built FPSO and will continue to lease it to BW Energy Gabon on the same terms as previously agreed, but without the O&M services.

This charter includes a mutual put-and-call option on the FPSO for US$100M, exercisable in 2028. The parties will work together on the transition until 30 June 2025 to ensure a safe and uninterrupted transfer of operations. “Transferring daily operational control of BW Adolo to BW Energy Gabon is a natural step given its growing presence in Gabon and potential to capture efficiencies across the local organisation,” said Mr Beenen. “The seamless execution reflects the commitment of both teams to safeguard personnel, the environment and asset integrity.”

BW Energy chief executive Carl Arnet said, “Assuming full O&M responsibility will allow us to optimise field performance and capture additional synergies across the Dussafu hub.”

BW Adolo has 1,350,000 barrels of oil storage, can produce 40,000 b/d of oil and is spread moored offshore Gabon.

BW Energy projects

Also in May, BW Energy made the final investment decision (FID) for the Maromba development offshore Brazil, This will involve an integrated drilling and wellhead platform (WHP) and a refurbished FPSO with first oil planned for the end of 2027 and expected plateau production of 60,000 barrels of oil per day.

Maromba, with potentially 500M barrels of oil in place, is located 100 km off the Brazilian coast in the Campos Basin. BW Energy intends to invest around US$1.5Bn in its development.

Its WHP will be a converted jack-up drilling rig with 16 slots for production wells and the FPSO, BW Maromba, is in COSCO shipyard in China for refurbishment and life extension work.

This spread-moored FPSO, which was previously deployed on the Polvo field, has 1M barrels of storage capacity and total liquid capacity of 100,000 b/d and water treatment capacity of 85,000 b/d. Heavy oil from Maromba will be exported on shuttle tankers.

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