Ownership of Petrojarl I unlocks 2026 FID for Timor-Leste oilfields development
Australian junior Finder Energy has secured the Petrojarl I floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for its Kuda Tasi and Jahal (KTJ) oilfields project offshore Timor-Leste.
The floater was acquired for US$15m in shares and cash — including US$6 million cash — via a new strategic agreement with Amplus Energy, which has divested the Petrojarl I to Finder and taken a significant equity stake in the company.
The agreement follows Amplus’ acquisition of the Petrojarl I earlier this year and the significant progress it has made to prepare the floater for future redeployment.
Under this deal, ownership of the FPSO will be transferred to Finder, while Amplus will continue to play a central role in delivering front-end engineering and design (FEED), life-extension and upgrade work, and ultimately operations and maintenance services following field deployment.
Finder on Wednesday said acquisition of the Petrojarl I would play a key role in accelerating the KTJ project.
The operator last year began assessing FPSOs suitable for redeployment. On inspection of the Petrojarl I, the company identified it as an “excellent fit” for the project due to its adaptability, proven systems and readiness for life-extension work. Ownership of the vessel unlocks a pathway to the final investment decision (FID) by mid-2026 and first oil by the end of the following year.
The FPSO will be the focal point of the production infrastructure for the KTJ project connecting to the three planned development wells and subsea production system (SPS) and enabling the offshore processing, storage and export of crude oil.
Acquisition rationale
Explaining its rationale for purchasing the Petrojarl I, Finder pointed out the dayrate for a bareboat charter for a smaller-size FPSO in Southeast Asia can range between US$60,000 and US$200,000, based on market data it had obtained.
Not only does the lower end of that range for a seven-year project total more than US$150 million in gross operating costs, but the KTJ project is now expected to deliver an additional 2 million or three 3 million barrels of additional production because of a lower economic cut-off for the owned vessel.
The Petrojarl I today can handle 25,000 to 30,000 barrels per day of crude oil plus 10,000 bpd of produced water. The double-hulled FPSO has storage capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil.
The floater is currently warm stacked in a shipyard in the Canary Islands, Spain, where it has marine crew and onsite personnel to facilitate all the inspections required to support pre-FEED and FEED work.
During the design phase, Amplus will provide services in connection with the integration of the Petrojarl I into the KTJ project as part of FEED. During the project execution phase, the company will manage the modifications and life extension work for the FPSO.
Amplus will undertake work in three phases: Pre-FID shipyard/lay-up; shipyard life-extension and upgrade scope; and hook-up and commissioning.
The Petrojarl I to date has had 11 deployments, lastly on the Atlanta field offshore Brazil from 2018 to 2024, where it recorded 98% production uptime.
Finder noted that Atlanta presented more challenging conditions than the KTJ project, including deep water (1500 metres versus 400 metres) and much heavier oil (14° degrees API compared to 55° API). During this deployment, the FPSO produced over 30 million barrels of oil from three wells over the six-year period “providing a high level of confidence in her suitability and capability for the KTJ project”, said the new owner.
“Securing the Petrojarl I is a significant step towards the realisation of the KTJ project. She is widely considered the most redeployable FPSO in the world and comes equipped with adaptable production systems, offering a cost-effective solution… that streamlines delivery of our acceleration strategy,” commented Finder chief executive Damon Neaves.
“Ownership of the Petrojarl I is expected to deliver both capex and opex savings and has potential to unlock future development opportunities including the Krill and Squilla discoveries, plus a host of near-field tie-back prospects.”
The KTJ fields and Krill and Squilla discoveries lie on Finder’s Block 19-11 production sharing contract offshore Timor-Leste.
Financing
Finder has received binding commitments for a strongly supported two-tranche, non-underwritten placement of around 67.6 million shares to raise A$25m (US$16.4 million) which will be used for the FPSO’s acquisition, holding and maintenance costs, to identify long-lead items and accelerate FEED studies to fund the KTJ project through to FID.
Steve Gardyne, managing director of Amplus hailed the agreement as a sound strategic decision on an opportunity “too good to pass up” – one that delivers on its ambition to enter the FPSO redeployment market in a commercially innovative way with a client, partner and project which are an excellent fit for the company.
“This model strengthens delivery alignment while generating increased returns. Taking a significant equity stake in Finder and enabling the KTJ project with the Petrojarl I provides Amplus with an excellent platform to consolidate the opportunities created through acquiring the Petrojarl I and offering her to the market in a flexible and commercially innovative way,” said Gardyne.
He added that while this is the best commercial arrangement for Amplus and Finder within this project, Amplus remains committed to the concept of direct ownership of vessels in future where that approach is optimal.
As part of the strategic agreement, Amplus managing director Steve Gardyne has been appointed to Finder Energy’s board.
Completion of the acquisition is expected on 12 December.
Finder in August 2024 acquired its 76% operated interest in Block 19-11 from Italian major Eni and Japan’s Inpex. Earlier this year, Timor-Leste national oil company Timor GAP completed a farm-in agreement to increase its stake to 34% from 24%, leaving Finder with the majority 66% operated interest.
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