BW Energy secures $208m lease for Gabon platform and extends credit facility

BW Energy has secured $208m in project-level lease financing for the Akoum wellhead platform planned for the Bourdon field offshore Gabon. The company simultaneously announced the signing of an 18-month extension to its $250m revolving credit facility. The lease will finance the full capital cost of the platform, which is being developed within the BW Energy-operated Dussafu licence. The company reached a final investment decision on the Bourdon development in May.

Akoum is being converted from a rig into a 12-slot wellhead platform. BW Energy stated that the work was progressing as planned and that the facility would support potential later development phases in the area. First oil from Bourdon is scheduled for the first quarter of 2028. Minsheng Financial Leasing has agreed the 12-year lease, replacing short-term funding previously disclosed by BW Energy. The arrangement has an initial fixed period of eight years, followed by an option for a further four years.

The lease covers 100% of the platform’s capital expenditure. Costs will be allocated between the Dussafu licence partners according to their respective participating interests. BW Energy holds a 73.5% share. At the conclusion of the lease, ownership of the platform will transfer to the licence. Thomas Young, chief financial officer at BW Energy, said the Bourdon development exemplified the company’s business model, noting that it took 14 months from discovery to final investment decision. He added that the full infrastructure cost was financed long term at an attractive cost of capital without upfront equity.

Young also noted that extending the revolving credit facility added further flexibility as the company grew towards more than 100,000 barrels per day. Separately, BW Energy exercised an option to prolong the term of its corporate revolving credit facility with DNB Bank. The facility will now mature in August 2028, with its existing terms unchanged. The $250m revolving credit facility is intended to provide funding flexibility for field development work and general corporate purposes.

BW Energy has oil and gas production, development and exploration interests in Gabon, Brazil and Namibia. The company reported net proved plus probable reserves of more than 240 million barrels of oil equivalent and 390 million barrels classified as 2C resources. It has stated that it expects production to rise from around 30,000 barrels of oil per day in 2025 to more than 100,000 barrels per day in 2028.