KUALA LUMPUR (July 28): Yinson Holdings Bhd has inked an exclusivity agreement with bp Exploration (Angola) Ltd to reserve a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the latter’s proposed 10-well subsea Palas, Astrea and Juno Oil Fields (PAJ Project) in Angola.

In a statement on Thursday (July 28), Yinson said it will, under the agreement, exclusively allocate FSPO Nganhurra to bp for the PAJ Project until Dec 31 this year. bp has the option to extend the reservation until June 30, 2023 while the parties negotiate a contract to convert, operate, maintain and lease the FSPO for the project.

"The lease and operate contract, which is anticipated to include a 10-year fixed term, is expected to be executed by the end of 2024, subsequent to bp reaching final investment decision," Yinson said.

According to Yinson, the FPSO Nganhurra is a high specifications unit with a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day. It was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in 2006 and owned by Woodside Energy and Mitsui E&P Australia Pty Ltd.

Yinson holds an exclusive purchase option for FPSO Nganhurra until June 30, 2023 with an option for the company to extend it until Dec 31, 2023.

The FPSO, which operated at the Enfield field in Australia until autumn 2018, is currently laid up outside Labuan.

Yinson production chief executive officer Flemming Grønnegaard said the group is confident that its track record, technical knowledge and experience in this industry will support and fulfil bp’s business needs.

“This agreement emphasises Yinson’s position as the preferred contractor in executing FPSO redeployment projects, which have significant capex (capital expenditures) and schedule advantages, for established oil and gas players such as bp,” he said.

He added that Yinson has recently completed two successful redeployment projects — FPSO Abigail-Joseph and FPSO Helang — and is currently engaged in a redeployment delivery for FPSO Atlanta.

On Thursday, Yinson’s shares closed 4.06% or eight sen higher at RM2.05, valuing the group at RM6.26 billion.