WFW advises BW Energy on US$80m prepayment facility for Golfinho oil field offshore Brazil

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised BW Energy on an up-to US$80m prepayment facility provided by a leading international commodity trader. The facility will be used to fund the purchase of the Golfinho oil field located in the Espírito Santo Basin offshore Brazil from oil and gas giant Petrobras.

BW Energy has acquired 100% of the operated working interest in the Golfinho cluster. The acquisition along with BW Energy's acquisition of the Camarupim cluster and a 65% operating stake in the BM-ES-23 exploratory block is expected to add approximately 9,000 barrels of oil per day to production from mid-2023.

The Golfinho cluster is located at a water depth of between 1,300 and 2,200 metres in the Espírito Santo Basin and crude oil produced from the cluster will be sold to Shell.

BW Energy is a growth-focussed oil and gas company involved in the acquisition, development and production of proven oil and natural gas fields. It holds majority interests in three hydrocarbon licences in Gabon, Brazil and Namibia and concentrates on hydrocarbon fields with significant upside potential to leverage its technical operational and basin expertise with repurposed infrastructure.

The WFW London Projects team that advised BW Energy was led by Partner Joe Levin working closely with Senior Associate Jordan Joannides and Associate Cosmo Fisher.

Joe commented: “This is our second time working with BW Energy after previously advising them on signing their inaugural RBL facility. We are delighted to continue to grow our strong relationship and once again provide advice on key financing aspects of this important transaction. The deal highlights the team’s ability to successfully advise clients on high-value, complex financings in the oil and gas market”.