(WO) — SBM Offshore has secured $465 million in project financing for FSO Chalchi, the floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel being built for Woodside Energy’s Trion deepwater development offshore Mexico.
The financing, provided by a consortium of international banks and institutional investors, includes partial insurance support from China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation. SBM Offshore said the funding will be drawn during the vessel’s construction and will become non-recourse after the FSO begins operations.
FSO Chalchi is currently under construction and will operate under 20-year lease and operate agreements with Woodside’s Mexican affiliate, Woodside Petróleo Operaciones de México.
The newbuild FSO is based on a Suezmax-class hull and will feature SBM Offshore’s disconnectable turret mooring system. Designed for water depths of approximately 2,500 m (8,200 ft), the vessel will have storage capacity of approximately 950,000 bbl of crude oil.
The vessel will be deployed at the Trion field, located about 180 km offshore Mexico and 30 km south of the U.S.-Mexico maritime border. Trion is being developed by operator Woodside, which holds a 60% interest, and partner Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which owns the remaining 40%.
“We welcome the signing of the project financing of FSO Chalchi, marking our first transaction combining commercial banks, institutional investors and support from an export credit agency,” said Douglas Wood, chief financial officer of SBM Offshore. “This financing structure demonstrates SBM Offshore’s ability to deliver innovative, long-term funding solutions for our clients and provides a scalable solution for potential new lease and operate projects.”
Trion is one of the largest deepwater developments currently under construction offshore Mexico and represents Woodside’s first operated oil production project in the country.
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