Global energy investor Samos Energy has signed a ship sale agreement to purchase the Suksan Salamander floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit from Altera Infrastructure Group.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The FSO is currently in use at the Bualuang oilfield offshore Thailand. The Bualuang field is operated by Medco Energi Thailand.

The Suksan Salamander is registered under the flag of the Bahamas.

It was constructed by Mitsui in 1993. The unit has a capacity of 78,228 deadweight tonnes (dwt).

Samos Energy has collaborated with FPSO Ventures, a company specialising in the operations and maintenance of floating production units, as part of the deal.

Following the completion of the acquisition and the transfer of the Suksan Salamander FSO from Altera to Samos, FPSO Ventures will manage operations and maintenance.

Samos Energy will assume ownership and control of the asset along with its bareboat charter contract.

This acquisition forms part of Samos Energy's broader strategy to enhance its portfolio of offshore production assets.

It complements the company’s existing assets in South East Asia, which include three floating production units acquired from BlackRock in 2023.

Samos Energy has recently been actively involved in securing new equity and debt facilities at the corporate level.

This financial manoeuvring is aimed at facilitating further expansion of the company’s offshore production fleet and acquiring new exploration, production, midstream and power platforms.

The partnership between Samos Energy and FPSO Ventures aims to ensure continued operational efficiency, adherence to safety standards and reliability for Medco Energi Thailand at the Bualuang oilfield.

The Suksan Salamander FSO is integral to this operation, providing necessary storage and offloading capacity.

It features a double-hull design with the ability to store around 470,000 barrels of crude oil, process 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) and offload at a rate of 20,000bpd.