Euronav has taken full ownership of two floating storage and offloading vessels (FSOs) in its 50-50 joint venture with International Seaways for a combined US$300M
International Seaways received approximately US$140M in cash for the purchase for the two converted ultra-large crude carriers, FSO Asia and FSO Africa.
Both units have been operating at the Al Shaheen field offshore Qatar since 2010 and will commence a new contract in Q3 2022. The transaction was approved by North Oil Company, Al Shaheen field’s operator.
International Seaways and Euonav said both companies believe a different ownership structure is required for their assets.
Euronav chief executive Hugo De Stoop said the purchase represents “an important strategic milestone” for the operator, allowing it to provide in full a significant source of long-term earnings visibility for our shareholders.
“Euronav has for many years maintained operational control of these assets and it makes sense now for us to assume full economic control. International Seaways has been a strong and reliable partner since 2008 and we are grateful for their support. These operational units have already provided substantial value to our customer since 2010 and the long-term contracts reflect Euronav’s operational capability in diversifying activities beyond the traditional crude oil transport sector and generating superior returns on capital.”
International Seaways president and chief executive Lois K Zabrocky said, “Our participation in the FSO joint venture with Euronav has provided stable cash flows for more than 11 years for International Seaways and its predecessor.”
“For the past several months, we’ve evaluated options to unlock the value of the joint venture in cash to further strengthen our balance sheet and support our long-term value creation strategy, which, over the last five years, has included a transformational merger and vessel purchases at cyclical lows, maintaining a strong balance sheet and returning nearly US$100M in capital to shareholders since the start of 2020. We thank Euronav for their partnership, and we are confident they will continue to operate these vessels with the highest standards.”
