LNG

Kosmos Energy has halved its forecast 2025 capex budget to $400 million after posting a $7 million net loss in the fourth quarter. The independent oil and gas producer now prioritises on generating free cash flow, notably from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project where a first LNG cargo is lined up.

Kosmos Energy, the Dallas-based company with LNG interests in the West African nations of Senegal and Mauritania and a specialist company for offshore Atlantic Margins exploration and production, has made a successful start-up of oil production at the Winterfell development in the Green Canyon area of the US Gulf of Mexico.

Seatrium of Singapore, the shipyard engineering company, with continued project successes in oil and LNG with many projects to work on through 2025 has signed an accord with Shell Global Solutions to explore and strengthen collaboration opportunities in Floating Production Systems through leveraging their engineering capabilities and technologies.

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ethe Shell unit focusing on driving project standardisation and replication while seeking to promote best practices in the design of floating systems.

The Singaporean company noted that Seatrium and Shell had worked together on various projects over the years, including the recently-announced Sparta floating production unit (FPU), which is conceived as a replicable project to leverage the Group’s topsides single-lift integration methodology, following the
fabrication of Vito and Whale FPU newbuilds in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Collaboration

“We are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Shell, leveraging both parties’ competencies and technologies in past Floating Production Systems projects,” explained William Gu, Executive Vice President of Seatrium Oil & Gas (International).

“We look forward to continuing working with Shell to mutually learn and develop best-in-class project management practices to achieve operational efficiency in future floater projects, benefitting both parties,” Gu stated.

Seatrium also said in April 2024 that the its shipyard engineering activities would include more LNG project successes.

The company as secured a series of major contracts with an aggregate value of S$350 million (US$259M), to be completed by the end 2025, reinforcing its reputation as a market leader in vessel repairs, upgrades and conversions.

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, is moving forward in the sector after big LNG delivery highlights in 2023.

These included the successful delivery in November 2023 of the Greek floating storage and regasification unit, the “FSRU Alexandroupolis”, now deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub. 

Conversions

The backlog of FSRU conversions involves three LNG Carriers (LNGC) being converted to FSRUs for Turkish company Karpowership, with an option for a fourth project.

Seatrium also in November last year handed over the LNG production unit for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa and also involving Dallas-based US company Kosmos Energy.

The group’s businesses include oil & gas newbuilds and conversions, offshore renewables, repairs & upgrades, and new energies, to advance the global energy transition from its 60 years of experience in the offshore industry.

Seatrium operates shipyards and engineering and technology centres in 12 countries including Brazil, China, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and the UK and the US as well as Singapore.

Seatrium of Singapore, the shipyard engineering company, aims to continue with its liquefied natural gas project successes with a large book of projects to work on through 2025.

Seatrium has secured a series of major contracts with an aggregate value of S$350 million (US$259M), to be completed by the end 2025, reinforcing its reputation as a market leader in vessel repairs, upgrades and conversions.

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, is moving forward in the sector after big LNG delivery highlights in 2023.

These included the successful delivery in November 2023 of the Greek floating storage and regasification unit, the “FSRU Alexandroupolis”, now deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

African FLNG

Seatrium also in November last year handed over the LNG production unit for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa and also involving Dallas-based US company Kosmos Energy.

The group said that the diverse range of complex contracts secured by the Seatrium Repairs and Upgrades unit and currently being worked on or being prepared for include upgrades and conversions of FSRUs, life-extension and remediation works for floating production systems as well as repairs to conventional LNG carriers

“We thank our customers for their confidence in Seatrium’s capabilities and for entrusting us with these important projects,” said Alvin Gan, Executive Vice President of Seatrium Repairs and Upgrades.

“With our expertise and extensive track records, we are committed to deliver safe, timely and reliable projects to our customers,” he stated.

The backlog of FSRU conversions involves three LNG Carriers (LNGC) being converted to FSRUs for Turkish company Karpowership, with an option for a fourth project.

“The conversion work involves installing a regasification skid, as well as other supporting systems such as cargo, utility, spread-mooring, offloading, electrical, and automation systems,” Seatrium explained.

This work is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024 and involves the vessels “Karmol LNGT Powership Africa”, “Karmol LNGT Powership Asia” and “Karmol LNGT Powership Europe”.

“This work reinforces the group's position as a pioneer and market leader in the highly specialised FSRU conversion market,” Seatrium added.

LNG dry-dockings

A series of LNG carriers will also be dry-docking in Singapore under a “favoured customer contract” with Hyundai LNG Shipping of South Korea

Vessel life extension, upgrade and remediation and maintenance also involves customers like Japan’s MODEC with a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit, the “Pyrenees Venture”, for Australian LNG operator and oil and gas player Woodside Energy.

“The vessel is expected to be re-deployed back into production off the coast of Western Australia,” Seatrium said.

The Singaporean company has also attracted business for its successful Cruise Ship Refurbishments yard.

“We have vessel retrofits for a series of 10 cruise vessels from our long-term partners, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Group, in 2024,” Seatrium added.

Three leading US-based liquefied natural exporters, project developers and infrastructure owners, Cheniere Energy, Kosmos Energy and New Fortress Energy are testing the debt market’s appetite for LNG offerings in the form of senior notes totalling up to $2 billion.

Cheniere, the owner of the Sabine Pass export plant and the Corpus Christi facility in Texas and their expansion projects, intends to use the proceeds from the offering to retire all or a portion of the approximately $1.5 billion outstanding aggregate principal amount of Cheniere Corpus Christi Holdings senior secured notes due in 2025.

The Cheniere 2034 Notes will rank “pari passu”, or on an equal footing, in right of payment with existing senior notes at Cheniere, including the senior notes due 2028.

Kosmos Energy, which is based in Dallas, Texas, announced an offering of $300 million of convertible senior notes due 2030 by way of a private placement.

Kosmos is an exploration and production company with assets in the Atlantic Margin, including a stake in the floating LNG ventures being developed offshore West Africa in partnership with UK major BP and the nations of Senegal and Mauritania.

Africa to GoM

The company is also active in other projects, including offshore Ghana and Equatorial Guinea in West Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kosmos said it intended to grant the initial purchasers an option to purchase up to an additional $45M aggregate principal amount of notes, for settlement within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the date on which the notes were first issued.

“The notes will be senior, unsecured obligations of the company and will rank “pari passu” with the company’s existing senior notes and the revolving credit facility,” said Kosmos.

Kosmos said it intended to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to repay a portion of outstanding indebtedness under the company’s commercial debt facility and pay the cost of capped call transactions as well as fees and expenses related to the offering.

“The capped call transactions are expected generally to reduce potential dilution to the company’s common stock upon any conversion of the notes and/or offset any cash payments the company is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes,” Kosmos explained.

New Fortress

The third offering came from New York-based New Fortress Energy (NFE) and involved a cash tender for up to $250M of senior secured 6.750-percent notes due in 2025.

NFE activities span Gulf of Mexico LNG production, imports of cargoes to terminals in Brazil linked to gas-fired power and power assets in the US territory of Puerto Rico.

“The tender offer is subject to customary conditions, including, among others, that the offeror receive gross proceeds of at least $500M from a debt financing on terms and conditions acceptable to the offeror,” said NFE.

NFE retained Morgan Stanley & Co to serve as the sole dealer manager for the tender offer.

Kosmos Energy, a shareholder in the floating liquefied natural gas projects offshore Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa and other regional oil and gas ventures in Ghana and Equatorial Guinea, swung to a fourth-quarter profit from a previous loss and reported good progress on the FLNG development alongside UK major BP and advances in the additional Yakaar-Teranga LNG proposal.

Seatrium of Singapore, the shipyard engineering company with continuing liquefied natural gas project successes, reported a three-fold increase in annual revenues underpinned by LNG vessel deliveries to Greece and West Africa.

Woodside Energy, the leading liquefied natural gas operator in Western Australia, said the “Léopold Sédar Senghor” floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit had safely arrived off the West African state of Senegal for a key oil project.

“This is a significant step toward achieving first production from the Sangomar oil field which is targeted for mid-2024,” said Woodside.

The FPSO’s delivery for the Sangomar oil venture follows the arrival of an FLNG production vessel in November 2023 for a separate project run by UK major BP that will also benefit Senegal as well as its neighbour Mauritania.

Oil output nearer

The Perth-based company said that the arrival of the FPSO, named after the first President of Senegal, from Singapore to its final destination, located 100 kilometres (62 miles) offshore the Sengalese capital Dakar, marked the start of the next phase of the project.

Woodside will now help oversee the commissioning of the FPSO and the hooking up to the 23 production, gas and water injection wells that make up the Sangomar Field Development Phase 1.

Woodside Chief Executive Meg O’Neill said the Sangomar project was advancing to the company’s satisfaction.

“The FPSO arrival brings us closer to first production,” said O’Neill.

“We are proud to be Senegal’s first offshore oil project operator and firmly believe that this project will prove to be important to Senegal’s future development and prosperity,” O’Neill stated.

“In addition to developing Senegal’s energy resources, we have already begun working with the Government of Senegal, local businesses and communities to develop programs that create business opportunities, build local capabilities, foster employment opportunities, and bring broad economic benefits as a result of our operations,” O’Neill explained.

The Woodside CEO also praised the role of the Société des Pétroles du Sénégal (Petrosen),  the national oil and gas company, as a contracting partner in the venture.

The Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 includes the stand-alone FPSO with subsea infrastructure and an expected production capacity of around 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

LNG developments

Senegal is also separately involved in floating LNG joint ventures being developed by BP and Kosmos Energy along with the governments of Senegal and Mauritania in the offshore Greater Tortue Ahmeyim natural gas fields.

Seatrium Group of Singapore converted and delivered an LNG floating production vessel, the “Gimi FLNG”, to be stationed at a nearshore hub located on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border, and is expected to begin production in 2024 as part of the first phase of the FLNG venture.

The “Gimi FLNG” was converted by Seatrium in a project in partnership with Norway’s Golar LNG from a 1975-built Moss LNG carrier with a storage capacity of 125,000 cubic metres.

It is designed for 20 years of operations on-site without dry docking, with a liquefaction capacity of 2.7 million tonnes per annum and is contracted to operate near shore in 30 metres of water depth.

Seatrium Group of Singapore, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, has made the successful delivery and hand-over of the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupoli” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

Côte d'Ivoire has celebrated the ramp-up of the Baleine oil and gas field as part of a world-class hub of oil, pipeline natural gas and LNG exports and imports being built out to improve economic prosperity in West Africa from Mauritania in the North to Angola in the South.

The President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, and Claudio Descalzi, the Chief Executive of Italian major Eni, met in the African nation’s economic capital, Abidjan, to mark the production ramp-up at the Baleine field.

The Baleine project is offshore block CI-101 and is believed to hold up to 2.0 billion barrels of oil in place and 2.4 trillion cubic feet of associated gas located at water depth of 1,200 metres.

Largest discovery

Baleine was discovered in 2021 as the largest commercial discovery in the country in the last 20 years and is now set to contribute substantially to energy production in the Côte d'Ivoire after starting production in September.

The Côte d'Ivoire’s regional neighbours to the North, Senegal and Mauritania, are currently developing floating LNG projects, while among its southern neighbours, Nigeria is an established world-scale LNG and oil exporting nation, while Cameroon has a small FLNG project in operation, Ghana plans LNG imports and Angola is a major oil and gas nation.

The Côte d'Ivoire’s mainly oil production has varied significantly over the past two decades as existing fields have become depleted, closed for maintenance or development works and as new discoveries have been made but have needed further investment and development.

Eni’s partner in the Baleine project and other ventures is the African nation's state energy company, Société Nationale d'Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d'Ivoire (Petroci).

In addition to the CI-101 block, Eni owns stakes in four other blocks in the Ivorian deepwater. They are CI-205, CI-501, CI-504 and CI-802, all with the same partner Petroci.

Output

“Oil production from Baleine stands at 20,000 barrels per day, far exceeding the initial anticipated 12,000 barrels per day,” Eni explained.

“The project is set to reach its plateau of 50,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2024. Upon completion of the second development phase and full field development it is then  expected to enable the production of up to 150,000 barrels per day,” Eni added.

“Baleine's gas production is entirely destined for the domestic market, strengthening access to energy in Côte d'Ivoire,” stated the Milan-based company.

Eni said that the meeting between President Ouattara and CEO Descalzi covered other initiatives that Eni is carrying out to advance economic diversification in addition to contributing to the country's energy needs and prosperity.

Bio-refineries

“Among these, it is worth mentioning the production of vegetable oil to supply Eni’s bio-refineries, an operation that recently began in Côte d'Ivoire and which leverages waste from rubber production,” CEO Descalzi explained.

“This project will feed our bio-refineries with sustainable feedstock, while at the same time integrating Côte d'Ivoire in the value chain of biofuels, generating a positive impact for the families of local farmers with whom we collaborate through long-term agreements,” Descalzi stated.

“This initiative offers additional income for 100,000 families that have already joined the program,” he added.