Kosmos Awards Atwood Subsidiary Contract For Ultradeepwater Rig

Offshore drilling contractor Atwood Oceanics has extended its drilling operations for Kosmos Energy with a contract for the Atwood Achiever ultradeepwater rig.

Atwood said one of its subsidiaries agreed to a one-well contract with Kosmos for operations offshore Northwest Africa. The day rate for the drillship was not disclosed.

Plans are for the new contract to begin after the completion of a well in progress under the existing contract, Atwood said in the release.

The new contract includes six one-well priced options. If no options are exercised, the rig would become available again in March 2018, the company said. However, the next availability date extends to about December 2018 if all six options are exercised.

Golar LNG Acquires Interest In FLNG Hilli Episeyo

Golar LNG Partners LP in mid-August said it would purchase equity interests in Golar Hilli LLC and indirectly own the floating LNG Hilli Epeseyo.

The $658 million agreement was struck with Golar LNG Ltd. and affiliates of Keppel Shipyard Ltd. and Black and Veatch. The acquired interests will represent 50% of two liquefaction trains—part of an eight-year contract to Perenco Cameroon SA and Societe Nationale Des Hydrocarbures. The deal is less net lease obligations under the financing facility for the Hilli that are expected to be between $468 million and $480 million.

Along with execution of the agreement, the partnership paid $70 million to Golar, upon which it will receive annual interest of 5%.

Fortuna Floating LNG Offtake Contract Goes To Gunvor

Gunvor Group Ltd. has been named the preferred LNG buyer for the Fortuna FLNG project offshore Equatorial Guinea.

Gunvor has committed to take the full-contract capacity of the Gandria FLNG vessel’s 2.2 mmtpa, which will be purchased on a Brent-linked, Free on Board basis for a 10-year term. The contract structure allows flexibility for up to 1.1 mmtpa of the Fortuna capacity to be marketed on an alternate basis. The agreement gives the Fortuna partners the potential to sell volumes to higher-priced gas markets in Africa and elsewhere while retaining a share in the profits.

The final investment decision remains on track for 2017 for Fortuna and project funding is the last major milestone.

“The selection of Gunvor sets a landmark moment in the development of the Fortuna Project,” Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, minister of mines and hydrocarbons for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, said in a statement. “The partnership with Gunvor also paves the way for the government’s objective to deliver important projects that monetize our gas, promotes local content and brings world-class petroleum technology to Equatorial Guinea. The Fortuna Project will target becoming the first choice supplier of LNG for the LNG to Africa initiative, furthering Equatorial Guinea’s leadership position in Africa as an LNG exporter.”

—Staff Reports

Offshore