KNOT orders two more DP2 shuttle tankers

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers (KNOT) has been awarded a long term charter by Equinor ASA for two new 153,000 DWT DP2 shuttle tankers to lift oil from the Roncador field off Brazil .

They will be built by South Koreqn shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries and delivered in 2020.

“We are pleased to announce these new shuttle tanker contracts with Equinor, which further builds on KNOT’s market leading position in the Brazil and continues our long relationship with Equinor, which was established in 1984 when we ordered our first shuttle tanker,” said Trygve Seglem, President and CEO of KNOT

Equinor says that with the acquisition of an interest in the Roncador field, the third largest producing field in Brazil, its equity production in Brazil is increasing to around 100.000 boe per day, an increase of around 60,000 boe per day.

‘We have now secured the long-term solution for the lifting of the Roncador crude’ says Kjetil Johnsen, head of Shipping in Equinor. ‘With these modern and fuel-efficient vessels, we will evacuate the crude oil in a safe, sustainable and cost-efficient way. We are very pleased to enter into this contract with Knutsen with extensive experience from shuttle tanker operations in Brazil.

The vessels are designed for operations in Brazilian waters and are optimized for intended trading pattern. The vessels will come in operation in 2020 and meets all requirements for offshore loading in Brazil. In addition to the new shipping capacity for the Roncador production, Equinor has seven conventional tankers on long term contracts in operation for the Peregrino field.

‘This acquisition of the share in Roncador field is a key element in the building of Brazil as a core area for Equinor,” says Veronica Rezende Coelho, head of Partner-operated Licenses & Area Development in Equinor’s business area Development and Production Brazil. “With these new shuttle tankers, we are securing value creation along the whole value chain from production to market.”