SBM Offshore Secures USD 1.55bn Financing for FPSO Cidade de Saquarema

zoom Dutch supplier of floating oil platforms SBM Offshore N.V. has secured USD 1.55 billion to finance the construction of FPSO Cidade de Saquarema, the largest project financing in the company’s history. Project financing was secured by a consortium of sixteen international banks with insurance cover from four Export Credit Agencies (ECA): Atradius Dutch State Business N.V. (Atradius), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero S.p.A. (SACE) and UK Export Finance (UKEF). FPSO Cidade de Saquarema is owned and operated by a joint venture owned by affiliated companies of SBM Offshore (56%), Mitsubishi Corporation (20%), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (19%), and Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A. (5%). The vessel has processing capacity of up to 150,000 barrels of crude oil and 6 million cubic meters of gas per day, and storage capacity of approximately 1.6 million barrels of crude oil. The joint venture will own and operate the vessel on a 20-year charter service for Tupi B.V. Combined with the USD 1.45 billion project financing of FPSO Cidade de Maricá secured in July 2014, the latest financing agreement pushes the financing for two sister units destined for the Lula field in the pre-salt province offshore Brazil to USD 3 billion . BM-S-11 block is under concession to a consortium comprised of Petrobras (65%), BG E&P Brasil Ltda. (25%), and Petrogal Brasil S.A. (10%). FPSOs Cidade de Maricà and Cidade de Saquarema are expected to be delivered by end 2015 and early 2016, respectively.