The firm period of the contract is seven years, followed by options for a maximum of eight years. The firm period of the contract has a value of approx. USD 418 million.
Prosafe will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and operation of the FPSO. The vessel is expected to arrive in the field in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The conversion will be based on the M/T Kudam, an Aframax with double sides. The FPSO will have a process facility of 150 000 barrels of fluid per day, a crude oil production of 63 000 barrels of oil per day and an oil storage capacity of 620 000 barrels.
The Van Gogh field lies in a water depth of about 350 meters and is located off the North West corner of Australia. The area is environmentally sensitive and produced water and gas will be reinjected for environmental reasons.
The contract represents an important breakthrough for Prosafe in the growing Australian market. Prosafe will make use of its proprietary technology, including a disconnectable turret mooring system and multipath swivel stack. The disconnectable turret system is a further development of the company's long proven designs which have been in operation for more than 15 years.
The disconnectable turret mooring system broadens the company's range of products, which ranges from buoys to large deepwater turrets with capacity of 40 risers.
Apache is one of the world's top independent oil and gas exploration and development companies and Prosafe is proud to be selected as the supplier of the FPSO. This contract is Prosafe's third FPSO award within the last six months, and is yet another confirmation of the company's strong position in the upper FPSO segment.
Prosafe is the world's leading owner and operator of semi-submersible service rigs and a major owner and operator of floating production and storage vessels. Operating profit reached USD 150 million in 2006. The company operates globally, employs approx. 1 000 people and is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. Prosafe is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with ticker code PRS. For more information, please refer to www.prosafe.com.
Stavanger, 7 May 2007
For further information, please contact:
Arne Austreid, President and CEO
Phone no: +47 51 64 25 81 / +47 900 77 334
Karl Ronny Klungtvedt, Exec. Vice President and CFO
Phone no: +47 51 64 25 40 / +47 908 81 657
Bjørn Henriksen, Chief Operating Officer
Phone: +47 902 52 480