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Japanese shipping company K Line starts its bank-backed involvement in the offshore oil and gas market with a stake in a FPSO project off Ghana.

K Line and three other partners, namely Sumitomo Corporation, JGC Corporation and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) signed an agreem[ds_preview]ent in principle with the Malaysian offshore production service provider Yinson to participate in the owning and chartering business for oil and gas floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO).

The partner unveiled now, that after commencement of the definitive agreement, they will acquire, through a joint venture, 26% of the shares of Yinson Production (West Africa) Pte. Ltd., a FPSO owning company operated by Yinson. This has concluded a 15-year long-term FPSO chartering agreement with eni ghana, which is an affiliate of the major Italian oil company Eni, and started oil production at Offshore Cape Three Point Block (»OCTP«), approximately 60 kilometers south west of Ghana, in May 2017. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the domestic supply of natural gas from FPSO is expected to commence in Ghana by mid-2018, the partner said.

»FPSO is key infrastructure for deep-water oil and gas production, which are likely to increase steadily in the future; thus, demand for FPSO is expected to increase. In preparation for this demand, K Line, Sumitomo Corporation and JGC will acquire knowledge and expertise through the project as their first FPSO owning and chartering business«, it was added. DBJ will supply risk money with the »Special Investment Operations« as the project is supposed to help improve vitality and develop sustainability of the Japanese economy.

Technical and commercial details:

  • Name of FPSO: »John Agyekum Kufuor«
  • Crude oil production capacity: 58,000 barrels/day
  • Gas production capacity: 210 million square feet/day
  • Crude oil storage capacity: 1.4 million barrels
  • Mooring system: Spread mooring (about 500 to 1,000 meters below the surface)
  • Shareholding ratio: Yinson Group: 74%, four partners: 26%
  • Chartering period: 15 years from June 2017