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OneLNG and Ophir form joint operating company to develop Fortuna FLNG

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LNG Industry,


Ophir Holdings & Ventures Ltd (Ophir) and OneLNGSM have announced that they have signed a binding shareholders’ agreement to establish a joint operating company (JOC) to develop the Fortuna project in block R, located offshore Equatorial Guinea, utilising Golar’s floating LNG (FLNG) technology.

Ophir Holdings & Ventures Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ophir Energy plc, whilst OneLNG is a joint venture (JV) between subsidiaries of Golar LNG Ltd and Schlumberger.

OneLNG will have 66.2% ownership of the JOC, whilst Ophir will have 33.8% ownership. The JOC will facilitate the financing, construction, development and operation of the Fortuna project and, from final investment decision (FID), will own Ophir’s share of the Block R licence and the Gandria FLNG unit.

Both FID and the shareholders’ agreement are subject to a number of conditions, including the following:

 

  • Agreement of the final terms and execution of documentation for the project debt financing.
  • Approval by Ophir Energy plc shareholders.
  • Approval by the Equatorial Guinea government.

 

It is expected that FID will be taken in 1H17, with first gas expected in 1H20. Initial offtake is expected to be between 2.2 million tpy and 2.5 million tpy for a period of 15 – 20 years. This will monetise approximately 2.6 trillion ft3 of the discovered resource.

Approximately US$2 billion in CAPEX is expected to be required to reach first gas. Approximately US$1.2 billion is expected to be debt financed, with full drawdown by the start of commercial operations. Before FID, a decision will be made as to the final offtake pricing mechanism. Shortlisted proposals from possible offtakers will be evaluated based on value maximisation. At an assumed FOB gas price of US$6/million Btu, the JOC will generate approximately US$560 million in cash flow (pre debt service) each year.

The Chief Executive of Ophir, Nick Cooper, said: “Formation of the Fortuna JOC provides the framework for FID and clear line of sight to first gas. This progress is due to the innovative partnering between OneLNG and Ophir, the quality of the resource base, the excellent project economics and support from the Government of Equatorial Guinea.

"Ophir's committed future expenditure to first gas will not exceed US$150 million and certain other commercial exposures have been limited. We will now be able to advance the project while preserving our balance sheet strength."

The CEO of OneLNG, Jeff Goodrich, added: “OneLNG was formed to provide an integrated approach to operators to reduce risk and costs and accelerate the time to monetise stranded gas reserves, and thereby transforming the economic viability of such projects. We are pleased to sign a shareholders' agreement with Ophir for the formation of the Fortuna JOC. We look forward to working with Ophir and all of the other stakeholders to deliver OneLNG's and Africa's first deep-water FLNG project."

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/10112016/onelng-and-ophir-form-joint-operating-company-to-develop-fortuna-flng/

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