- CANBERRA: Oil and gas company Apache said its subsidiary will proceed with the development of the Balnaves oil field in offshore Western Australia, with gross peak production of about 30,000 barrels per day.
First production from the $438 million development is scheduled in 2014, Apache said in a statement.
Apache also agreed to lease Armada Claire, a floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) owned by Malaysia’s Bumi Armada with production capability of 80,000 barrels of oil.
Bumi Armada, in a regulatory filing, said it signed a contract worth 1.46 billion ringgit ($459.4 million) to supply and operate the FPSO for Apache, marking the Malaysian company’s entry into Australia.
Bumi Armada said the contract is expected to add to its revenue and earnings for the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2011, and increase its order backlog to more than 7 billion ringgit.
Bumi Armada’s joint venture company recently signed a seven-year charter with India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. for an oilfield support vessel.
Apache’s shares closed up 0.4 percent at $82.88 on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. Bumi Armada shares were up almost 1.5 percent at 3.41 ringgit on Friday afternoon.
Apache has operations in the US, Canada, Egypt, the United Kingdom North Sea, Australia and Argentina.