KUALA LUMPUR (July 1): Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX), via its 90%-owned subsidiary Ping Petroleum UK PLC, has taken delivery of the Sevan Hummingbird floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel from marine energy transportation company Teekay Corp.

In a statement on Friday (July 1), DNeX said the acquisition of the FPSO is a critical milestone in the Central North Sea Avalon development project in the UK, which the group continues to progress after receiving a letter of “no objections” from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in March this year for its proposed Avalon development plans.

Ping has also been recently granted a 19-month extension by NSTA to the second term of the P2006 licence containing Avalon, which allows the company additional time to optimise and gain full regulatory approval of the Avalon Field Development Plan.

The proposed development concept includes plans to deploy the Sevan Hummingbird FPSO at the Avalon field, which will be modified to facilitate electrification from an external, low carbon source.

DNeX added that the group is evaluating options to connect the FPSO to a dedicated floating offshore wind turbine to power the facility, minimising diesel usage and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

The planned development, said DNeX, allows Ping to expand and diversify its portfolio of producing assets in full compliance with the UK’s energy security and net zero targets.

DNeX group managing director Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the group anticipates full operational deployment of the facility on Avalon by 2025.

“We have a tangible asset ready with the newly acquired Sevan Hummingbird. Our next step is to secure approval for our Field Development Plan, which will be submitted in the coming months,” he said.

First commissioned in 2008, the Sevan Hummingbird FPSO is a 60m diameter facility, which has a storage capacity of 270,000 barrels of oil and is capable of producing up to 30,000 barrels of oil per day, supporting up to 47 offshore personnel.

With a total estimated ultimate recovery of 23 million barrels of oil reserves over a period of 12 years, oil production from Ping’s second oilfield asset is expected to come onstream in 2025.

DNeX shares closed unchanged at 79 sen on Friday (July 1), bringing it a market capitalisation of RM2.49 billion.