Dubai-based shipyard, Drydocks World, has signed a contract with Malaysia-based Yinson Production for its expertise in producing assets for the offshore oil and gas industry to work on an FPSO vessel. The vessel in question will undergo an 18-month operation in which Drydocks World will upgrade, refurbish and convert 1989 built FPSO OSX 2. The ship will then be delivered to Brazil-based independent oil and gas company Enuata in the third quarter of 2023 for operations in the offshore Atlanta field in the Los Santos Basin.
Enuata acquired the vessel in December 2021 for $80 mn and intended to realize the potential of Enuata’s Atlanta oil field. An FPSO is an integral part of the oil production process. Crude oil and other extracts are fed into the FPSO from Subsea reservoirs which then separate it into natural gas and oil with the facilities available on board the vessel. This vessel will be connected to 6-8 producing wells in the area and increase the capacity of the Atlanta area to 50,000 barrels of oil per day.
An earlier agreement between Yinson and Enuata entailed that the combined cost for the acquisition and the upgrade of the FPSO would be around $ 500mn, and Yinson would have the option to purchase the unit. If this option was exercised, it would trigger a charter, operation, and maintenance contract of 15 years between Enuata and Yinson. The contract is also stated to be extendable for another 5 years after the initial 15 years.
