SBM Offshore exits Equatorial Guinea following FPSO stake sale

Dutch floater expert SBM Offshore has signed a share purchase agreement for the full divestment of its equity interest in the lease and operating entities of the FPSO Aseng to GEPetrol.

The company’s exit from Equatorial Guinea will take place following an operational transition phase lasting up to 12 months.

According to the company, the sale of its participation in the unit in Equatorial Guinea is in line with its strategy to rationalise its lease and operating portfolio, as per other recent transactions.

The agreement remains subject to several conditions precedent and approvals. Financial details of the deal were left undisclosed.

The unit has a processing capacity for 120,000 barrels of liquids per day, including 80,000 barrels of oil and can handle 170m standard cubic feet of gas per day. The unit has storage capacity for 1.6m barrels.

When the unit first started producing in late 2011, SBM Offshore entered a joint venture with GEPetrol for the ownership and operation of the unit. Under the agreement, SBM Offshore held a 60% share of the joint venture while Equatorial Guinea’s state oil company held the remaining 40%.