Shell is exercising its right under the charter agreement to purchase the FPSO Turritella in Gulf of Mexico, the deepest FPSO development in the world, according to an official statement by SBM Offshore.
The purchase allows a Shell affiliate to assume operatorship of the Stones development in its entirety, creating additional efficiencies through integration of sub-sea to surface operations and allowing leverage of its optimized Gulf of Mexico organization and infrastructure. The transaction is expected to close in early 2018, which provides for a transition window to ensure a safe and controlled handover of operations.
The company selling the asset is a joint-venture owned by SBM Offshore with 55% interest, Mitsubishi Corporation with 30% interest and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) with 15% interest. The transaction comprises a total cash consideration to the JV of c. US$ 1 billion.
The net divestment proceeds, after taking into account the unwinding of the JV ownership and partner commitments, will primarily be used for project finance redemption and as such will decrease SBM Offshore’s proportional net debt position.
The FPSO Turritella has been on hire since September 2, 2016 and forms an early phase in Shell’s Stones development in the Gulf of Mexico. The Stones development is located in 2,896 meters (9,500 feet) of water approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles) offshore Louisiana in the Walker Ridge area. It has a turret with a disconnectable buoy allowing it to weathervane in normal conditions and disconnect from the FPSO upon the approach of a hurricane.
