BW Offshore Mulls Spin-Off of Oil & Gas
BW Offshore's CEO Carl Arnet made the following comments:
"We have changed our vision and purpose. We are not exploring for oil, but oil that is found and to some extent proven. We will be exposed to oil price risk."
Arnet wants focus on small to medium size discoveries and wants to prove company can deliver on Dussafu. He continues, "Longer term aim is to set it up so we can separately list our oil and gas activity."
New preliminary reserve estimates for Tortue on the Gabon/Dussafu license from independent reserves auditors Netherland, Sewell & Associates INC. (NSAI) from December 2017. NSAI has calculated following estimates of total gross economically recoverable oil reserves, derived from assumed production from four oil wells in Tortue field, with a proved (1p) reserves of 15.9 million bbls.
NSAI reserves review does not include other 3 discovered fields in license, known as Ruche, Moubenga and Walt Whitman. Independent reserves review does not address prospective resources within EEA.
Arnet adds, "We are still looking at FPSO opportunities and bidding for projects. We have seen some increase in activity. It is slowly coming back. We also see that the pricing seems to be challenging. As it is now we don't see return levels we like to pursue in the FPSO business."
Reporting By Henrik Stølen