Norwegean provider of floating production services to the oil and gas industry BW Offshore has won approval from Brazilian oil regulator ANP for the purchase of the Maromba oilfield, part of the Oslo-listed company's plan to become an operator and not just a supplier of oil services, platforms and ships.
The purchase, from Chevron Corp and Petrobras, extends BW's operations in Brazil, where it already has two floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units.
“We are proud to announce that our subsidiary BW Energy has been approved by the razilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels as operator and has received governmental go ahead to acquire the Maromba license. This again proves the viability of the BWO business model for BW Energy and our continued success in developing proven reserves in the current oil price environment," said Marco Beenen, CEO of BW Offshore.
The closing of the transaction with Chevron and Petrobras is subject to certain condition precedents. This approval as operator satisfies the main condition precedent for the closing of the Maromba field acquisition and will trigger the first milestone payment of USD 30 million to Chevron and Petrobras.
The total acquisition price for the Maromba field is USD 115 million, which will be paid over three milestones as the development progresses towards first oil. The second milestone is due at start of drilling activities and the third milestone is due at first oil or 3 years after the start of drilling activities, whichever comes first.
“Maromba represents further proof of our upstream business model. Our Dussafu development is progressing according to our plans and is showing very good production of more than 12.000 bbls/d and no water. Our effort will now be directed to shortly present a plan for development to the Brazilian authorities and start the development of this very attractive license. Maromba is expected to significantly increase our production from 2022 onwards and is a very important element in our growth strategy," said Carl K. Arnet, CEO of BW Energy.
The Maromba field is located off the Brazilian coast in the Campos Basin in 160 meters of water depth, where BW Offshore has extensive operating experience.