BW Offshore to acquire Maromba field offshore Brazil

Norwegian floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel group BW Offshore has announced plans to sign agreements for the acquisition of 100% of the Maromba field offshore Brazil from energy companies Petrobras and Chevron.

Petrobras operates the field with a 70% stake, with the remaining 30% held by Chevron.

BW Offshore reported that the closing of the acquisition is subject to board approvals and fulfillment or waiver of conditions precedents.

The closing is also subject to approval by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.

The Maromba field is located the Campos Basin, with a water depth of 160m. It is a shallow water heavy oil field close to the producing Peregrino and Papa-Terra fields.

The field comprises the Lobo, Castor, Dingo and Chinchila prospects with multiple targets in the Eocene, Maastrichtian, Albian and Aptian horizons.

The companies have not disclosed the deal value. BW Offshore plans to provide further information once the agreements are signed.

In October 2017, Petrobras and Chevron started the binding phase with regard to the transfer of their stakes in the Maromba field.

Interested parties qualified in the previous phase were given invitation letters containing instructions about the divestment process. These include guidelines to conduct due diligence and submit binding proposals.

For Petrobras, the potential transaction is said to an opportunity to develop and monetise a heavy oil discovery in shallow waters.

BW Offshore provides floating production services to the oil and gas industry and has a fleet of 15 owned FPSOs. So far, it has executed 40 FPSO and floating storage and offloading (FSO) projects.