Altera Infrastructure has landed contracts with Eni for its cylindrical-shaped floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel Voyageur Spirit and the shuttle tanker Nordic Brasilia offshore Ivory Coast.
The vessels are set for deployment on the Baleine field with a 15-year firm contract. The units are currently undergoing life extension work and field-specific modifications at Drydocks World in Dubai. The FPSO previously operated on the Huntington field in the North Sea until 2020. The 2004-built shuttle tanker will be converted into an FSO to provide additional storage capacity for the FPSO, and Altera will continue to own and operate both vessels.
The Baleine prospect represents the largest commercial discovery in the country in the last 20 years and it is expected to contribute to energy production in Ivory Coast and strengthen the country’s role as a regional energy hub. The development is Africa’s first net zero emissions project, covering scopes 1 and 2. The development of the project will be on a fast-track schedule, with a planned start-up date for Phase 2 in the fourth quarter of 2024.
UK-based Altera, formerly Teekay Offshore, has around 40 consolidated offshore assets of approximately $3.6bn. Financial terms surrounding the Eni agreement have not been disclosed.
Commenting on the deal, Chris Brett, president of Altera Infrastructure Production, said: “Securing contracts in a promising region like Côte d’Ivoire is a significant acknowledgment of Altera’s capability in delivering complex projects on a fast-track timeline. This is now our second contract award in short succession based on the redeployment of an existing FPSO and demonstrates that redeployments are some of the fastest, most cost-effective and emissions friendly ways for our customers to develop their projects in the current market.”
