After Sumitomo, Another Japanese Firm Takes Stake in Yinson's Brazil FPSO Project

Malaysian FPSO specialist Yinson has welcomed another Japanese investor to its Marlim 2 FPSO project. 

Yinson is building the Anna Nery FPSO (conversion from Falcon VLCC) to be deployed at Petrobras Marlim II project offshore Rio de Janeiro, under a 25-year lease contract. 

The Malaysian company recently sold a 25 percent stake in the FPSO project to Japan's Sumitomo, and KLine, another Japanese company, said Thursday it had agreed to acquire a ten percent stake in the project. 

"Upon stable operations of the FPSO being achieved in 2023, “K” Line will have around a 10% stake in the FPSO venture," the Japanese shipping firm said. 

In a separate statement, Yinson said the deal was worth $49 million, of which $4,9M to be paid upon the execution of the sales and purchase agreement, and the remaining $45 million to be paid upon Petrobras' final acceptance of the Marlim 2 FPSO.

The FPSO is planned to serve the Marlim oil and gas field revitalization project, which is operated by Petrobras and situated 150 kilometers off the Brazilian coast in the Campos Basin. Operations are expected to start by the first quarter of 2023.

• Yinson, Petrobras Sign Firm Contracts for Marlim 2 FPSO

"This project represents “K” Line’s second FPSO business following the offshore Ghana oil and gas field development project [FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor] based on the partnership with Yinson and Sumitomo, in which the company participated in 2018, and “K” Line will efficiently accumulate the knowledge and expertise of operation and maintenance of FPSO by dispatching its technical personnel to Yinson’s project team in Singapore from this year onwards," the company said.

The Japanese company further said it planned to expand FPSO business with Yinson and Sumitomo as a core business which generates long term and stable profits, and utilize the accumulated know-how in the succeeding FPSO projects and new energy-related businesses. 

"Despite the recent decrease in demand of crude oil caused by COVID-19, the demand for FPSO units (as a preferred deep-water oil and gas production platform) is expected to remain strong for years to come, especially in Brazil," K Line said.

Worth noting, energy intelligence firm Rystad said earlier this week it didn't expect any new FPSO orders this year, however, it expects the situation will improve next year when it foresees seven new FPSO to be ordered.

Also, Reuters on Wednesday reported that Petrobras would soon launch a tender for Brazil's largest-ever FPSO.