Bumi Armada Sells Armada Claire FPSO

Malaysian FPSO leasing company Bumi Armada said Tuesday it had completed the sale of the Armada Claire floating production storage and offloading vessel. The FPSO was sold by Bumi Armada's subsidiary, Armada Balnaves.

"The Armada Claire sale was on an “as is where is” basis, at a sale price of US$20 million. The sale proceeds were received by [Armada Balnaves] on April 19, 2023," Bumi Armada said,

Bumi Armada said it would recognize a gain on sale of the Armada Claire FPSO of approximately US$12 million in its second quarter financial results. 

Proceeds from the FPSO sale, net of transaction fees, will be used to reduce Bumi Armada Group’s corporate debt. Bumi Armada did not say who the buyer was.

In June last year, Bumi Armada lost its appeal in relation to a 2020 court decision in which it had lost a case against Woodside concerning the Armada Claire FPSO contract termination from 2016.

Woodside terminated the contract in 2016 for the FPSO Armada Claire, which was at the time operating at the Balnaves Field, offshore north-western Australia.

Bumi Armada, via its Armada Balnaves subsidiary, deemed the FPSO contract termination unlawful, and then took legal action against Woodside, seeking a $283.5 million compensation. 

The Supreme Court of Western Australia in January 2020 dismissed Bumi's claim against Woodside for wrongful termination of the Armada Claire FPSO contract, after which Bumi said it would appeal against the decision. Bumi Armada's appeal was heard in July 2021. 

In a judgment issued in June 2022, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Woodside and dismissed Bumi’s appeal. On November 10, 2022, the High Court of Australia dismissed an application made by Armada Balnaves for special leave to appeal part of the judgment of the Court of Appeal and ordered Armada Balnaves to pay Woodside's costs, bringing the case to a conclusion.

Bumi Armada had initially signed the Armada Claire FPSO charter with Apache in 2011. Apache then, in 2015, sold its Australia operations to Woodside, which eventually terminated the FPSO contract.

The 240-meter-long Armada Claire was converted into FPSO by Keppel in 2013. In its first quarter 2022 presentation, Bumi Armada said that the Armada Claire would be sold or scrapped in 2022.  

AIS data by MarineTraffic.com, dated March 22, last showed the vessel as located at the Galang Anchorage, Batam, Indonesia.

Armada Claire Specs: