KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 31): Bumi Armada Bhd's floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel Armada Kraken has set sail from Singapore today, within its rescheduled departure date.

"The FPSO is on schedule to sail away to the Kraken field in the North Sea this quarter as planned," the company said in a press statement today.

Armada Kraken was initially scheduled to sail from the Keppel Conversion Yard for commissioning work in deep water anchorage on Oct 16. According to news reports, Bumi Armada later said the vessel would sail within the month without specifying a date.

According to the offshore energy facilities and services provider, the FPSO had completed its shore-based commissioning activities at the quayside in Singapore as well as the vessel's inclination testing programme.

The journey from the yard is expected to take about 50 days, and the unit is expected to deliver oil in the first half of 2017, the company said.

Just last week, The Edge Weekly reported that the fate of Armada Kraken could be hanging in the balance as its UK client, EnQuest Plc, announced a financial restructuring plan amid mounting debt woes.

Bumi Armada could face losing the US$1.4 billion (RM5.87 billion) contract for the FSPO if EnQuest's restructuring plan does not go through. It still owed EnQuest liquidated damages of US$85 million due to the delay in Armada Kraken's delivery, which would take eight years to repay, the company announced last month.

Bumi Armada shares rose 1 sen or 1.44% to close at 70.5 sen today for a market capitalisation of RM4.14 billion.