KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 29): Oil and gas services firm Keyfield International Bhd (KL:KEYFIELD) said on Friday it is buying a vessel for RM76 million to expand its fleet.

The 200-men accommodation workboat Carimin Acacia will be earnings-accretive as the acquisition will be paid with ready funds from recent sukuk issuance, Keyfield said in an exchange filing. Acacia will be able to cater to projects requiring the higher ‘dynamic positioning 2’ (DP2) specifications, it noted.

“We are adding a better-specified vessel which can cater for charter projects which require higher vessel specifications as compared to Keyfield Lestari, which we have recently disposed of,” the company said.

Keyfield now has a fleet of 14 vessels, including six accommodation workboats equipped with DP2 systems. The company still has one more accommodation workboat without the DP2 system following the sale of Keyfield Lestari in June.

Acacia, currently owned by Carimin Petroleum Bhd (KL:CARIMIN), is a Malaysian-flagged vessel with a nine-year operating track record in Malaysia. As a DP2 vessel, Acacia could stay on station accurately while operating in harsher environments coping with waves and wind.

“With the addition of Acacia to our fleet, we will have better economies of scale in terms of vessel scheduling and it can cater for potential business opportunities both locally and internationally,” Keyfield group chief executive officer Datuk Darren Kee Chit Huei said in a separate statement.

Keyfield expects the proposed acquisition to be completed by December.

For Carimin, the sale of Acacia will result in a gain on disposal of RM4.6 million and save RM10.0 million to RM12.0 million of both capital and operating cash flow from the dry dock special survey due in March 2026.

“The proposed disposal represents an opportunity to divest and unlock the value of Acacia,” Carimin said in a separate filing. Part of the proceeds from the disposal will be earmarked for the distribution of a special dividend to shareholders, the company said.

Funds raised from the divestment will also go to its projects in the construction, offshore hook-up and commissioning and topside major maintenance segment, Carimin added.