Offshore staff
HOUSTON – VAALCO Energy is looking to bring in a floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit at the Etame Marin oil field offshore Gabon.
The company has signed a non-binding letter of intent with Omni Offshore Terminals to supply and operate the vessel at Etame for up to 11 years, following the expiry of the current FPSO Petróleo Nautipa contract with BW Offshore in September 2022.
Omni has provided a preliminary proposal for leasing and operating the FSO, which could reduce VAALCO’s operating costs by 15-25%, compared with the current FPSO contract during the term of the proposed agreement.
Maintaining the current FPSO beyond its contract or transitioning to a different FPSO, VAALCO added, would require substantial capex investments.
The projected capex for deployment of the FSO and the associated field reconfiguration is $40-$50 million gross, with an anticipated payback of less than three years.
Under the new configuration, the FSO would store and offload production and processing would be completed on the existing platforms.
VAALCO estimated potential annual operating expense savings of $15-$20 million over the life of the new agreement, due mainly to a simplified processing system that avoids duplication of processing on the platforms and again on the FSO.
That in turn should reduce or even eliminate the need for most ongoing life extension costs.
George Maxwell, VAALCO’s CEO and director, said the company’s goals were to “enhance our operations, reduce costs, improve net-backs and secure our ability to maintain production growth and maximize value at Etame for the next decade.”
04/28/2021
