Altera Infrastructure has signed principal agreements with Eni for the supply of a newbuild floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Baleine Phase 3 development offshore Côte d’Ivoire.
The agreements cover engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of the FPSO, together with a fixed 15-year bareboat charter.
The vessel will be built in China by Wison New Energies and will be capable of producing 90,000 barrels of oil per day, processing 160 million cubic feet of gas per day and storing up to 1.4 million barrels of crude oil.
Baleine Phase 3 is located about 70 km offshore Côte d’Ivoire in water depths ranging from 700 to 1,300 metres. Together with the existing Baleine developments, Phase 3 will increase total field production to about 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day.
All gas produced will be allocated to Côte d’Ivoire’s domestic market.
Upon completion of construction, Altera will own the FPSO and provide long-term operations under the 15-year charter and associated operating agreements.
The project follows Altera’s delivery of Baleine Phase 2, where the company redeployed and now operates the FPSO Petrojarl Kong and FSO Yamoussoukro.
Altera also said it had completed the largest and most complex financing in its history, securing long-term committed funding from international institutional investors. The financing covers the period from the start of construction through the full 15-year charter.
“Baleine Phase 3 is an important milestone for Altera and demonstrates our ability to combine compelling commercial solutions for our customers, world-class offshore operations and access to international capital to support major energy developments offshore Africa.
“We are proud to deepen our expanding strategic partnership with Eni and our commitment to Côte d’Ivoire, while delivering a solution that has attracted strong support from leading global investors. This establishes an important platform for future growth and collaboration while further strengthening Altera’s position as a leading provider of offshore production and infrastructure solutions,” said Chris Brett, President, Altera Production.
The project will extend Altera Infrastructure’s operational presence in Côte d’Ivoire into the mid-2040s.
