As a step towards the fully termed contract being signed during the second quarter of 2010, specific engineering studies to develop the safety case and define the vessel upgrade will be carried out by BW Offshore. It has been agreed that the contract will contain an initial fixed charter period of three years with an option to extend throughout the life of the field.
As per the agreed schedule, the FPSO will be deployed to the Athena field in mid 2011. The company said that the initial gross production rates are expected to be 22,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) (4,950bopd net to Ithaca).
The Athena joint venture partners are Ithaca (operator, 22.5%), Dyas UK (47.5%), EWE (20%) and Zeus Petroleum (10%).
John Woods, chief development officer of Ithaca Energy, said: “This agreement represents another major step forward for the Athena project. BW Offshore has shown an outstanding ability to adapt and innovate to meet the project requirements.
“Negotiations on the major contracts for subsea facilities and drilling services are progressing and we anticipate reaching agreement in the near future.”
