Floater Specialist BW Offshore Sells FPSO BW Pioneer to Murphy Oil

Floater specialist BW Offshore has announced the sale of the FPSO BW Pioneer to a subsidiary of US-based oil and gas company, Murphy Oil, for a total of $125 million.

The transaction includes an initial payment of $100 million upon the delivery of the FPSO at the end of its current contract period, which is scheduled to conclude on March 18, 2025. The remaining balance will be paid upon receipt of the full-term class certificate for the period 2025-2030, expected to be finalized before the end of the second quarter.

As part of the deal, BW Offshore and Murphy Oil will enter into a five-year reimbursable operations and maintenance (O&M) contract prior to March 18. Under this agreement, BW Offshore will continue to provide O&M services for the FPSO for the next five years.

CEO of BW Offshore, Marco Beenen, stated, “The divestment is in line with our strategy of capturing value from the existing FPSO fleet. The transaction strengthens our financial position and supports the execution of our long-term growth strategy of developing floating production infrastructure projects and energy transition solutions.”

The FPSO BW Pioneer underwent conversion at Keppel Shipyard in 2009 and boasts a storage capacity of approximately 600,000 barrels of oil along with a processing capacity of 80,000 barrels per day. The current contract extension with Murphy Oil was signed in March 2020.