Shell Books Floatel's Accommodation Rig for Malampaya Work

Oil major Shell has chartered an offshore accommodation rig from the Swedish company Floatel for work in the Philippines.

Floatel said Tuesday that Shell Philippines Exploration had awarded it a contract for the Floatel Triumph accommodation unit.

The company will provide Shell with accommodation and catering services for the additional offshore crew that will be supporting the scheduled turnaround of the Malampaya shallow-water platform located in the West Philippine Sea, Philippines.

Built in 2016 by Keppel, the Floatel Triumph is equipped with the latest Kongsberg Dynamic Positioning System, certified to DP3 class. It can accommodate 500 people in one and two-bed cabins and has large recreational areas, including mess and day rooms, gymnasium, internet café and cinema. The unit has a telescopic gangway for workers to transfer between the floatel and the host installation.  

The three-month charter with Shell in the Philippines will begin on site on September 1, 2021. Floatel did not share details on the value of the contract.

The Malampaya natural gas field lies about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of the Philippine island of Palawan.

The news of the flotel charter comes just a week after Shell said it had agreed to sell its Shell Philippines Exploration subsidiary, and thus exit the Malampaya field.

Shell will sell Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) to Udenna Corp's subsidiary Malampaya Energy XP.

SPEX holds a 45% operating interest in Service Contract 38 (SC38), which includes the producing Malampaya gas field.

The purchase price is US$380 million, with extra payments of up to US$80 million possible between 2022 and 2024, depending on asset performance and commodities prices. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2021, pending partner and regulatory approval.

“Since it began commercial operations in 2002, Malampaya has supplied a significant portion of the Philippines’ energy demand and it will continue powering the country with indigenous gas following a safe transition of the asset and its experienced workforce,” said Wael Sawan, Shell’s Upstream Director said last week.

Shell said that SPEX staff would continue their employment under the new ownership.

The other partners in SC38 are UC38 LLC, a subsidiary of Udenna Corporation (45%), and Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation (10%).

Back in March 2020, U.S. oil major Chevron completed the exit from the Shell-operated Malampaya gas project with the sale of its 45% non-operating interest in the field to Udenna.  

Related Stories