On March 25, 2020, the Rubicon Offshore International (ROI), owner of the Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) tanker, gave a Notice of Termination to GPC1 and other members of the Consortium. The termination notice covered the period 25 March 2020 to 24 September 2020, or for 6 months.
After receipt of the Notice of Termination, GPC1 started making plans for the disconnection of the FPSO from the Galoc Oilfield site. However, the FPSO disconnection was not implemented or carried out because a new strategy was developed to continue production operations in the Galoc Oilfield.
Continuation of Production Operations: During Transition Period from August 2020 to January 2021
Upon the initiative of the GPC1, an alternative strategy was developed to continue production operations even before the end of the Termination Notice.
GPC1 brokered the purchase of ROI’s FPSO Rubicon Intrepid by its mother company, Tamarind Resources Pte. Ltd., through a separate entity, Upstream Infrastructure Holdings (UIH). Tamarind Resources will have full control of the FPSO. The purchase was effective August 1, 2020.
GPC1 also arranged a new bareboat charter between UIH and the Galoc Joint Venture at minimal rates.
During the 6-month Transition Period, the FPSO Rubicon Intrepid will remain at the Galoc Oilfield location and continue production from the Galoc oilwells. A separate Operations & Management (O&M) contract has been negotiated with ROI for the 6-month Transition Period.
ROI senior management staff, FPSO crew, and production technicians will continue to carry out operations of the FPSO Rubicon Intrepid.
Continuation of Production Extension Period: February 1, 2021 – September 30, 2022
To further continue production operations in the Galoc Oilfield beyond the 6-month transition Period, a new alliance was formed with Three60 Energy, an established international offshore operator. Three60 Energy is an independent specialist service provider with headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland and has branch offices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore. It has been engaged to provide the Operations and Management (O&M) of the FPSO for 18 months.
UIH and Tamarind Resources will continue to supervise the operations of ROI and Three60 Energy. GPC1’s FPSO Operations Advisor has been mobilized to assure and control the activities and work force of ROI and Three60 Energy
TAMARIND ACQUIRES GALOC FIELD FPSO
To progress Tamarind’s strategy of improving performance from under-exploited fields via operational excellence, now even more critical given the continued volatility and downturn in world oil prices, the Tamarind team has continued to look at innovative ways to maintain oil field profitability. To achieve this, Tamarind has acquired the FPSO Intrepid from its O&M provider Rubicon. In turn, Tamarind is leasing the FPSO Intrepid to the Galoc Joint Venture on terms that are mutually beneficial to both parties and most importantly, enable the Galoc JV to continue production and the economic life of the Galoc field.