Ophir signs JV deal for Fortuna FLNG
Equatorial Guinea 
MALABO, November 10, 2016 – Ophir, Golar and Schlumberger signed a deal to jointly develop the Fortuna FLNG project off Equatorial Guinea, the companies said in a press release on Thursday.
After months of uncertainty and tense negotiations, a final investment decision, subject to approval by the companies’ boards and the government of Equatorial Guinea, is expected next year, with first gas projected by 2020.
Fortuna is expected to produce some 2.2 million-2.5 million tpy of LNG, likely to be sold in Europe, and to extract some 73.6 bcm (2.6 tcf) of gas over 15-20 years, the statement added.
OneLNG, a joint venture between Golar and Schlumberger, will own 66.2% of the project while Ophir will own the remaining 33.8%. Total capex until first gas is expected to reach USD 2 billion, of which some USD 1.2 billion will be financed by debt.
“Ophir’s committed future expenditure to first gas will not exceed USD 150 million and certain other commercial exposures have been limited,” said Ophir’s CEO, Nick Cooper, in the statement. “We will now be able to advance the project while preserving our balance sheet strength.”
Ophir shares had edged some 14.1% higher on London’s stock exchange by the early afternoon on Thursday and stood at GBP 0.79 (USD 0.99) at 1.14 pm, MarketWatch reported.
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