Senegal's maiden oil project receives FID; first oil early 2023

London — Senegal's maiden oil development Sangomar received a final investment decision Wednesday, with first oil due in early-2023, the partners said in a joint statement.

The Sangomar field, known as the SNE field until recently, is expected to produce up to 100,000 b/d from a stand-alone floating production storage and offloading facility.

This follows a week after the Senegalese government granted approval for the development to joint venture partners that includes Woodside, Cairn Energy's subsidiary, Capricorn Senegal, FAR Ltd and the state-owned Societe des Petroles du Senegal (Petrosen).

Senegal is an emerging oil province that was opened up by the SNE and FAN discoveries drilled in 2014. The West African country will launch an oil and gas licensing round later this month with 12 blocks on offers in its major MSGBC offshore basin.

Phase 1

"Phase 1 of the development will target estimated 2P recoverable oil reserves of 231 million barrels (gross)," the statement said. "Over the life of the field, total recoverable oil resources are estimated to be around 500 million barrels with the development also planning gas export to shore."

Woodside, the operator of the JV, said it completed the purchase contract for the FPSO facility and issued full notices to proceed for the drilling and subsea construction and installation contracts.

The start-up date for Senegal's maiden oil project, the offshore Sangomar field, had recently been delayed to 2023 from 2022 after the partners decided to buy the floating production, storage and offloading platform rather than rent it.

First discovered in 2014 by Cairn, the first development phase will tap 230 million barrels of oil and 200 Bcf of gas from the lower, less-complex reservoirs and an initial phase in the upper reservoirs.

Subsequent development phases will target a further 130 million and 123 million barrels of oil, respectively.