Bank of China contributes to $215 million syndicated loan for FPSO Almirante Tamandaré Construction Project

ICBC and BOC contributions to USD 215 million syndicated loan for FPSO Almirante Tamandaré Construction Project in Brazil in 2023 On March 31, 2023, Tamandare Owning B.V. — a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of SBM Offshore (55% ownership stake), Mitsubishi Corporation (25% ownership stake), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (20% ownership stake) — secured a $1.63 billion syndicated debt financing package for the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré Construction Project.

The package consisted of five tranches: a $400 million term loan with a 16.5-year maturity and an annual interest rate of SOFR plus 215 basis points, a $215 million term loan with a 2-year maturity and an annual interest rate of SOFR plus 250 basis points, a $215 million term loan with a 16.5-year maturity and an annual interest rate of SOFR plus 235-240 basis points, a $205 million term loan with a 16.5-year maturity and an annual interest rate of SOFR plus 185-195 basis points, a $580 million term loan with a 16.5-year maturity and an annual interest rate of SOFR plus 270-370 basis points.

These loans benefit from insurance cover from 4 international export credit agencies (ECAs), including Sinosure.

Syndicated loan participants included Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Societe Generale, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, Credit Agricole Group, BNP Paribas, Bank of China, NTT Finance Corporation, ING Bank, ICBC, ABN AMRO, and Bank Santander.

After signing a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) in February 2021, SBM Offshore signed contracts with Petrobras for the 26.25-years lease and operation of the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré in July 2021.

Several months later, on October 20, 2021, China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) and SBM Offshore signed a framework agreement related to project finance arrangements for various FPSO projects.

SBM Offshore secured a $635 million bridge loan facility for the financing of the construction of the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré in September 2021.

Then, in January 2022, SBM Offshore divested (sold) a minority stake in the FPSO to Japanese partners Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK).

After the divestment, Tamandare Owning B.V. was jointly owned by SBM Offshore (55% ownership stake), Mitsubishi Corporation (25% ownership stake), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (20% ownership stake).

The FPSO Almirante Tamandaré will be deployed at the Búzios field in the Santos Basin approximately 180 kilometers offshore Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Petrobras is operating the field in partnership with CNODC and CNOOC (through a production-sharing arrangement).

The design of the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré incorporates SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward® new build, multi-purpose hull, which was nearing completion at the yard as of February 2023 while topsides fabrication was progressing.

Then, in September 2023, two partially completed modules for the the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré were shipped to China for completion.

When the modules arrived at a Chinese yard known as Penglai Jutal Offshore Engineering Industries (PJOE) in Yantai city, Shandong province, they were reported to be 20% and 80% finished, respectively, with one consisting solely of a steel structure.

Upon completion, the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré is expected to be the largest oil-producing unit in Brazil with a processing capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil and 12 million m3 of gas per day.

The FPSO is also expected to have an estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity below 10 kgCO2e/boe and will benefit from emission reduction technologies, such as the closed flare technology, which increases gas utilization, preventing it from being burnt into the atmosphere. Initial oil production is scheduled for the second half of 2024.