Namibia's Kudu bucked up as BW buys semisub

摘要

NORWAY'S BW Energy is buying a semi-submersible to use as the hub of a gas-to-power project designed to exploit 1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas in its Kudu field offshore Namibia. The acquisition is part of a revamped development plan for the shallow-water field that could eventually see BW become involved in the power generation aspects of the project. Since Kudu was discovered in 1974, many operators including Shell, Chevron and Tullow Oil have tried and failed to get a commercial scheme off the ground. The base-case development plan has always been to send the gas to a newbuild power plant at Uubvlei near Oranjemund in the south-west of the country. The sticking points have been the size of the onshore plant, as well as the challenges of forming commercial arrangements with power off-takers and securing finance. Many African countries with natural gas resources are looking at how to cost-effectively commercialise these resources for domestic use. News that BW has acquired a semisub for Kudu offers much-needed impetus to a long-delayed project and could offer a way for other gas-to-power projects in Africa to be brought online cheaply. The Oslo-listed company has signed an agreement to acquire the Leo semisub from Aquadrill for $14 million.