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Cairn Energy sells stake in RSSD oil project (Senegal) to Woodside

Woodside Petroleum has entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement to buy Cairn Energy’s 40% stake in the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) project in Senegal. In August 2020, Woodside Petroleum had pre-empted the sale by Cairn Energy's wholly-owned subsidiary Capricorn Senegal to Lukoil of its project. Woodside will make an upfront payment of US$300m, along with contingent payments of up to US$100m. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020. Woodside Petroleum’s stake in the RSSD joint venture after completion of the acquisition will increase to 68% for the Sangomar exploitation area and to 75% of the remaining RSSD evaluation area and the company will remain the operator. Other partners in the joint venture include FAR (15%) and Petrosen (10%).

The blocks include two discovered fields, Sangomar and FAN. In January 2020, the government of Senegal approved the Sangomar Development and Exploitation Plan along with the exploitation authorisation, submitted by Woodside Petroleum, the operator of the Sangomar (formerly SNE) Field Development 1. Subsequently, Woodside Petroleum executed the purchase contract for the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) and issued full notices to proceed for the drilling and subsea construction and installation contracts. The final investment decision (FID) on the Sangomar field was thus made in early 2020. Requiring an investment of US$1.2bn, the Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 will target an estimated 230 Mboe and will consist of a FPSO vessel, with a capacity of around 100,000 bbl/d. First planned in 2021, its commissioning was delayed from 2022 to early 2023 in November 2019.