16 November, 2016
Shearman & Sterling advised OneLNG in connection with the agreement to establish a joint venture with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ophir Energy plc to facilitate the development, financing and operation of the Fortuna FLNG Project, offshore Equatorial Guinea.
Upon a final investment decision being taken, OneLNG and Ophir will own 66.2% and 33.8% of the joint venture company respectively, and the joint venture company will own Ophir’s share of the Block R licence and the Gandria FLNG vessel. A final investment decision is conditional upon, amongst other things, debt financing and approvals by the shareholders of Ophir Energy plc and the government of Equatorial Guinea.
The Shearman & Sterling team, led by partner Anthony Patten and associate Anthony Lepere, has worked on all aspects of the Fortuna FLNG Project since March 2015.
A final investment decision for the Fortuna FLNG Project is now expected to take place in 1H 2017 with first gas anticipated in 1H 2020. Initial offtake is expected to be 2.2-2.5 Mtpa for a duration of between 15 and 20 years which will monetise around 2.6 Tcf of the discovered resource. The expected total capital expenditure for the integrated project is approximately USD 2 billion to reach first gas. Approximately USD 1.2 billion is expected to be debt financed.
OneLNG is a joint venture to rapidly develop natural gas reserves to LNG that combines Schlumberger's reservoir knowledge, wellbore technologies and production management capabilities with Golar's low-cost floating LNG solution.
The Shearman & Sterling team includes partners Anthony Patten (Singapore-Project Development & Finance), Iain Elder (London-Project Development & Finance) and Matthew Powell (Abu-Dhabi-Mergers & Acquisitions) and associates Anthony Lepere, Colm OhUiggin, Bilyana Belcheva (all London-Project Development & Finance) and Vikki Fabian and Ruba Noorali (London-Mergers & Acquisitions).
