It has appointed GR Engineering subsidiary Upstream Production Solutions to provide operations and maintenance services to operate and maintain the FPSO and associated infrastructure - a critical step considering Angus Karoll's new company is aiming to bring small-company know-how to make the most of the remaining 500,000 barrels of recoverable oil.
The Northern Endeavour FPSO, which is stationed in 400m of water about 550km northwest of Darwin, has capacity to hold around 1.4MMbbl and process some 19,000 barrels of oil per day, was producing around 2944bopd in the March quarter.
Woodside and Repsol sold the asset for an undisclosed sum last week, however market watchers previously valued Laminaria-Corallina and the aging FPSO Northern Endeavour at between $100 million and $300 million.
Under the contract, which has an initial three year term, UPS has been engaged to provide offshore and onshore operations and maintenance services to NOGA.
Commencement of the contract remains subject to certain conditions precedent, all of which are expected to be satisfied within a week, but UPS has spent the past few months satisfying the regulatory processes, including safety case acceptance, to commence a transition period with Woodside and its contractors.
It will eventually emerge as the registered operator of the Laminaria-Corallina production assets.
UPS expects to generate revenue of around $30 million for NOGA.
"We are delighted to be supporting NOGA with its foundation asset. This represents a significant milestone for UPS and a great opportunity to continue expanding our strong offshore capability," UPS managing director Joe Corvetti said.
GR managing director Geoff Jones said the contract award demonstrated the ability of UPS management to grow the business and to play an increasingly important role in GR's diversification strategy.
Northern is headed up by Karrol and former Premier Oil and Tap Oil executive Blaine Ulmer as CEO, backed by former Woodside staffer Kevin Power, original member of the Northern Endeavour FPSO operations team Alan Gallatly and Talisman staffer Tony Dixon.
Laminaria-Corallina sits some 500km from Darwin across WA-18-L and AC/L5 and is NOGA's foundation asset.
The fields have produced more than 200MMbbl to its owners since first production in 1999.
In Queensland, UPS has has entered into an additional $50 million agreement with Origin Energy, the upstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG, for the provision of wellsite, gas production and water treatment facility maintenance and major works to support APLNG's activities in the Surat Basin, south-western Queensland.
The contract is for an initial two years with a one year option.
UPS has been engaged to complete scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and associated services for a minimum of 1500 wells, seven gas processing facilities, nine water gathering systems, two water treatment facilities and one pre-treatment facility.
