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Finder Energy, a Perth-based oil and gas exploration player, has struck a deal with Aberdeen-based Amplus Energy, which will enable a 39-year-old floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel to work at two oilfields off the coast of Timor-Leste, Southeast Asia.
Thanks to this agreement, Finder Energy has secured the FPSO Petrojarl I for its Kuda Tasi and Jahal oil (KTJ) fields project , as Amplus Energy has divested the unit to the Australian firm and taken a significant equity stake in the company. This strategic deal is said to formalize a fully aligned ownership and delivery model between the duo, strengthening delivery certainty and accelerating project execution.
The agreement follows Amplus Energy’s acquisition of the FPSO earlier this year and the significant progress made to prepare the vessel for future redeployment. Under this agreement, ownership of the vessel will be transferred to Finder, with Amplus continuing to play a central role in delivering FEED, life-extension, upgrade work, and ultimately operations and maintenance services following field deployment.
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Damon Neaves , CEO of Finder Energy, commented: “Securing the Petrojarl I is a significant step towards the realisation of the KTJ Project. She is widely considered the most redeployable FPSO in the world and comes equipped with adaptable production systems, offering a cost-effective solution for the KTJ Project that streamlines delivery of our acceleration strategy.
“Ownership of the Petrojarl I is expected to deliver both capex and opex savings and has potential to unlock future development opportunities including the Krill and Squilla discoveries, plus a host of near-field tie-back prospects.”
As part of the arrangement, Steve Gardyne , Amplus’ Managing Director, has been appointed to the Finder Energy board. The acquisition of the FPSO Petrojarl I is expected to play a key role in accelerating the KTJ project in Timor-Leste waters.
Gardyne highlighted: “Taking a significant equity stake in Finder and enabling the KTJ project with the Petrojarl I provides Amplus with an excellent platform to consolidate the opportunities created through acquiring the Petrojarl I and offering her to the market in a flexible and commercially innovative way.
“The KTJ project is an excellent fit for the Petrojarl I, and Amplus and Finder are an excellent fit to work together alongside the other key project partners and stakeholders to ensure safe, accelerated delivery of first oil. Since acquiring the Petrojarl I, our team has worked at pace to position it for successful redeployment.”
Finder’s ownership of the vessel is said to unlock a pathway to a final investment decision (FID) for the oil project by mid-2026 and first oil by year-end 2027. The completion of the acquisition is expected in December.
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Ian Herd , Executive Director and Owner of Amplus Energy, said: “The transaction with Finder Energy is the culmination of several years of strategic work by Amplus to enter the FPSO market. The decision we made earlier this year to purchase the Petrojarl 1 FPSO has given Amplus the platform we needed to fulfil two of our longer-term strategic goals in establishing Amplus as an FPSO contractor whilst also allowing us to become a significant shareholder in a well-established E & P company with an extensive portfolio of assets.
“[…]We see the successful conclusion of this transaction and the innovative commercial structure we have negotiated with Finder Energy as the first major step in establishing Amplus as the ‘redeployment FPSO contractor of choice’ for clients and we look forward to building this market position significantly in the coming years.”