Yinson Extends FPSO JAK Lease and Adds US$600 Million Backlog Through Gas Upgrade

Yinson will upgrade FPSO JAK's gas-processing facilities and extend its firm lease to 2036, adding about US$600 million in firm backlog through the higher day rate and longer term.

Yinson Production said on 5 October that it had signed a contract amendment with Eni for a major gas-processing upgrade on FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor offshore Ghana. The agreement also extends the vessel’s firm lease by four years to 2036. Yinson expects the higher day rate following completion of the modification, together with the lease extension, to add approximately US$600 million to its firm contract backlog.

The US$600 million figure therefore represents incremental firm backlog under the amended contract, not a separately disclosed price for the modification work alone. Signed on 2 October, the amendment covers a Non-Associated Gas project under which Yinson Production will upgrade the FPSO’s topside facilities.

The project will add gas compression and treatment capacity, lifting export capability from approximately 210–220 million standard cubic feet per day to 355 million standard cubic feet per day—an increase of about 61% to 69%. Completion is targeted for the first quarter of 2028.

Two new topside modules will be fabricated and integrated. The MG2 module will contain two gas-turbine-driven compressors, while the MC4 module will provide auxiliary gas treatment. The additional compression is intended both to handle higher gas volumes and to offset the expected decline in reservoir pressure as the fields mature.

FPSO JAK is the central offshore production facility for Ghana’s Offshore Cape Three Points development, serving the Sankofa-Gye Nyame fields. Eni operates the project with partners Vitol and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. The FPSO achieved first oil in May 2017 and is designed to process 58,000 barrels of oil per day with storage capacity of 1.4 million barrels.

The unit was converted from a tanker originally built by Samsung Heavy Industries in 1998, with the FPSO conversion completed at Keppel’s Singapore yard in 2017. It is owned by a joint venture in which Yinson Production holds 74%. The remaining 26% is held by a Japanese consortium comprising Sumitomo Corporation, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, JGC Holdings and Development Bank of Japan.

The OCTP development also supplies gas to Ghana’s domestic market. Offshore gas is transported to the onshore receiving facility at Sanzule before entering the national gas system for uses including power generation. The upgrade is therefore both an investment in an operating FPSO and a capacity expansion tied to longer-term domestic supply.

For Yinson Production, the amendment links new capital work to a higher day rate and a longer operating term. Extending the firm lease to 2036 provides greater revenue visibility for an asset that has been on stream since 2017.