SBM Offshore to sell 45% stake in Trion FSO project to NYK

(WO) — SBM Offshore has signed an agreement with long-time partner Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) to divest a 45% ownership interest in the special purpose companies responsible for the lease and operation of the FSO Chalchi, which is being developed for the Trion deepwater project offshore Mexico.

Under the proposed transaction, SBM Offshore will retain a 55% ownership stake and remain the majority shareholder. The divestment remains subject to customary approvals and conditions.

FSO Chalchi is currently under construction and will operate under 20-year lease and operation contracts with Woodside Energy through its Mexican affiliate. The vessel will support the Trion development, a joint venture between Woodside, which holds a 60% operating interest, and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which owns the remaining 40%.

The newbuild floating storage and offloading vessel is based on a Suezmax-class hull and will incorporate SBM Offshore's disconnectable turret mooring system. The unit is designed to store approximately 950,000 barrels of crude oil and will be deployed in water depths of about 2,500 meters.

The Trion field is located approximately 180 km offshore Mexico and 30 km south of the U.S.-Mexico maritime border in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

The agreement expands the long-standing partnership between SBM Offshore and NYK while supporting the development of one of Mexico's largest deepwater projects currently under construction.