Malaysian FPSO provider Bumi Armada has allowed Erin Energy to flow its oil from the Oyo field offshore Nigeria into the Armada Perdana FPSO cargo tanks and a one-off cargo offtake despite Erin’s outstanding debts towards the FPSO owner. 

As a reminder, Bumi Armada suspended the bareboat charter and operations and maintenance contracts with Erin Energy for the FPSO Armada Perdana in June due to longstanding delays in the bareboat charter payments to Bumi Armada, as well as irregular payments on the operations and maintenance contract.

The vessel owner then in August allowed the oil company to flow the produced oil into the FPSO cargo tanks despite outstanding payments.

Bumi Armada informed in a Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday that, further to a meeting with the representatives of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) of Nigeria and Erin, its subsidiaries had permitted the continuing flow of produced oil into the Armada Perdana FPSO cargo tanks and a one-off cargo offtake.

A substantial portion of the proceeds from sale of the cargo will be used for payment to Bumi’s entity Armada Oyo Limited (AOL) in partial settlement of outstanding amounts due from Erin to AOL. However, the suspension of services under both the operational and maintenance service contract and bareboat charterparty contract remains in place.

“Bumi Armada continues to engage with EPNL in an effort to seek an amicable solution for repayment of the total outstanding amounts,” the FPSO owner said.

The FPSO Armada Perdana has been deployed at the Oyo field since 2008 and the production from the field started in December 2009. The vessel has a production capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day, and storage capacity of 1.1 million barrels. The associated gas is re-injected into the Oyo field reservoir to maximize oil recovery.

Earlier this week, Erin announced the completion of the Oyo-9 well. The well results were in line with predictions and confirmed field extension to the western part of the field. However, due to chronic delays in the release of the remaining funds and improper interference by the guarantor of the loan facility, Erin decided to temporarily suspend the completion and hook-up of the development program at the Oyo field.

Heerema Marine Contractor’s deepwater construction vessel (DCV) Aegir will dock for maintenance at a Huisman Schiedam’s yard in the Netherlands on Monday, October 11. 

Huisman said in a social media update on Friday that the vessel will stay there until the end of the year.

The Aegir was built by the DSME yard in South Korea and named in September 2013. Huisman was in charge of the installation of the pipelay equipment.

The vessel, which is 210 meters long and 46 meters wide, is capable of executing complex infrastructure and pipeline projects in ultra-deep water and has sufficient lifting capacity to install fixed platforms in relatively shallow water. The design is a customized Ulstein Sea of Solutions SOC 5000. The living quarters are equipped to accommodate 289 persons in single and double cabins, with a maximum of 305 persons.

According to the latest AIS data, the vessel is currently moored in Rotterdam.

Belgian DEME group, specializing in dredging and marine engineering, has attempted to seize a vessel being built at the financially-troubled shipyard LaNaval.

As confirmed to OW by the company’s spokesperson, DEME has hired sub-contractors to take control of the uncompleted cable laying and trenching vessel Living Stone after several delays in delivery by the Spanish yard.

A team of people was sent to the yard in two tug boats and tried to board the ship. As informed, the subcontractors tried to unmoor the vessel and tow it to another location where it would be completed.

The attempt was, however, thwarted by the shipyard’s workers at around midnight, September 20, who called to police to intervene in the matter.

DEME is said to be in talks with the Spanish yard on the possible solution of the matter, but legal action against the cash-strapped shipbuilder has not been ruled out.

The ship is being built by the yard for Tidewater, part of DEME Group, and needs around six more months to be completed.

Living Stone, described by its owner as “the world’s most advanced” subsea cable installation and trenching vessel was launched at the Spanish shipyard on September 18, 2016.

The vessel features a Dynamic Positioning 3 capability and dual fuel engines, with LNG being its prime fuel.

The ship was supposed to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017 and head to its first project at the Merkur offshore wind farm in Germany, 45 km north of Borkum in the North Sea, for the installation of inter-array cables.

Neither DEME nor LaNaval replied to World Maritime News with a comment on the matter.