Sumitomo agrees deal with Yinson to take stake in FPSO set for Brazil

Japan’s Sumitomo has announced that it has concluded an agreement with Malaysia’s Yinson Holdings to take a 25 per cent stake in the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) owning and chartering business for the Marlim II Project, off the Brazilian coast.

The recent FPSO is planned to serve the Marlim oil and gas field revitalisation project, which is operated by Brazil’s Petrobras and situated 150 kilometers off the Brazilian coast in the Campos Basin.

The two entities co-owned by Sumitomo and Yinson, will sign agreements for owning/chartering and operation/maintenance with Petrobras. First production scheduled for the beginning of 2023, with a 25-year charter thereafter.

Sumitomo said that this project represents its second FPSO business following the offshore Ghana oil and gas field development project, in which the company participated in 2018, and its first project where its participation commences during the construction phase.

Sumitomo hopes by participating in the project from an earlier phase through to operation and management, it will acquire substantial knowledge and expertise on FPSO business management.

The firm stated: "We will establish the marine infrastructure business, which encompasses FPSOs, as part of our new energy business domain, and create synergies from its integration with existing energy businesses. Through these activities, we will contribute to the stable supply of energy, particularly oil and gas."