SBM Offshore has secured a $465 million project financing agreement for the floating storage and offloading vessel Chalchi, which is currently under construction.
The funding consortium includes international banks and institutional investors, alongside partial insurance cover from China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation.
The loans have a maximum tenor of approximately 14 years post completion and will be drawn during the construction phase before becoming non-recourse once operations commence.
Woodside Energy, through its Mexican affiliate Woodside Petróleo Operaciones de México, will lease and operate the vessel under contracts spanning 20 years.
The newbuild FSO is based on a Suezmax-type hull and will feature a disconnectable turret mooring system designed by SBM Offshore.
It is designed to be moored in a water depth of approximately 2,500 metres and will have the capacity to store around 950,000 barrels (151,000 cubic metres) of crude oil.
The vessel is slated for deployment at the Trion field, which lies 180 kilometres off the Mexican coastline and 30 kilometres south of the maritime border with the US. The offshore field is operated as a joint venture between Woodside, which holds a 60 per cent stake, and Petróleos Mexicanos, which maintains a 40 per cent share.
