zoomImage Courtesy: BW Offshore

Operator of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units BW Offshore Limited (BWO) has signed a cooperation deal with financial leasing firm ICBC Financial Leasing to jointly pursue international infrastructure projects with a focus on FPSOs.

Under the agreement, the parties plan to establish a long-term strategic partnership and offer cost effective production solutions for the global oil and gas industry.

BWO and ICBCL, the leasing firm with USD 44 billion in total assets and part of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Ltd. (ICBC), will proceed with further detailed discussions with the aim to establish a project consortium framework, and identify other potential strategic cooperation opportunities.

The intention is to explore and develop mutually beneficial FPSO and FPSO related projects globally in the interest of both companies and local Chinese-invested enterprises, and to build a platform for promoting Norwegian and Chinese cooperation on the international arena.

“We are very pleased to enter into this strategic cooperation with ICBCL, a world-leading financial institution, and to strengthen our ties with China. A strong financial partner enables BW Offshore to address new growth opportunities,” Andreas Sohmen-Pao, the Chairman of the Board of BWO, said.

The first joint project as part of the cooperation agreement, subject to both parties’ final approval, is ICBCL’s equity participation in the BW Catcher FPSO through the subscription of preference shares. The FPSO, a USD 1.2 billion investment, will operate on the Catcher field in the UK North Sea with start-up towards the end of 2017.

Additionally, the companies agreed to establish a cooperation to explore the Kudu-gas-to-power infrastructure project where BWO holds a 56% stake in the upstream license.