IHS Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | Chevron intends to bring its Tombua Landana oilfield onstream this quarter; three wells will be available at first oil, but the field will not reach its 100,000-b/d capacity until 2011. |
Implications | The project is the third development in Chevron's Benguela Belize Lobito Tomboco (BBLT) project in offshore Block 14. Overall cost for the oilfield is expected to reach US$3.8 billion. |
Outlook | The increase in oil production will of course benefit all partners, but the Tombua Landana project is vital as it will utilise the field's associated gas. Chevron is the largest shareholder in Angola's LNG plant due onstream in 2012 and is monetising gas that would previously have been flared for export. |
Launching Tombua Landana
U.S. supermajor Chevron will bring its Tombua Landana oilfield onstream this quarter. George L. Kirkland, executive vice-president, global upstream and gas said during the announcement of the company’s second-quarter results that hook-up and commissioning for the field are about 90% complete. It is expected that three wells will be available at first oil. Tombua Landana is projected to reach 100,000 b/d by 2011 with continued development drilling.
Chevron will have invested US$3.8 billion in the Tombua Landana facility, located in deepwater Block 14; construction began in September 2006. It is the third development in Block 14 in the Lower Congo Basin, offshore the enclave of Cabinda. Chevron's Angolan subsidiary Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. Ltd operates the Block 14 contractor group with a 31% interest; its partners include Sonangol Pesquisa e Producao, SARL (20%), Italy's Eni Angola Exploration BV (20%), France's Total E&P Angola (20%), and Portugal's Galp Energia Exploracao e Producao (9%).
The Block 14 development started oil production on 24 January 2006 when Chevron and its partners commenced work at the Belize field. This saw the launch of Phase 1, Benguela Belize, of the deepwater Benguela Belize Lobito Tomboco (BBLT) project. Phase 2 of Lobito-Tomboco followed less than six months later with production from Tombua Landana following on 20 June 2006 from the Lobito reservoir, Landana North-1 well (see Angola: 29 June 2006: Chevron Starts Production in Angola's Lobito Field in Deepwater Block 14). Phase 1 of Benguela Belize combines an integrated drilling and production platform hub facility supported by a compliant piled tower. Phase 2 of Lobito Tomboco produces via subsea wells tied into the central production hub. The BBLT development is located approximately 80 kilometres offshore in approximately 1,300 ft of water. Combined BBLT production hit a plateau of 200,000 b/d in 2008.
Outlook and Implications
At the start of the year the Heerema Marine Contractor (HMC) crane vessel Thialf successfully installed the compliant tower and topsides on the Tombua Landana site, according to EnergyCurrent. The Tombua Landana project for South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) comprised the installation of the tower and topsides in a water depth of 1,214 feet (370 metres) in Block 14. DSME won a 1.22-trillion-won (US$1.27 billion) order to build the platform for Chevron back in 2006. In Chevron's annual report last year the company said that production facilities for the development were to be assembled offshore, an approach that is expected to save time and money.
The increase in oil production will of course benefit all partners, but the Tombua Landana project is vital because it will utilise the field's associated gas. Instead of flaring, the associated natural gas will be used as feedstock for the Angola LNG facility, which appears to be on schedule, with first LNG expected early in 2012. Angola has little infrastructure in place to benefit from or monetise its gas reserves that are currently flared, and has been investing in putting in place new gas-gathering systems. Norwegian engineering group Acergy won a US$250-million contract last year for the nearshore/onshore segment of the pipeline network required for the transportation of gas from offshore blocks 0, 14, 15, 17, and 18 to the LNG plant. Approximately 1 bcf/d of associated gas will be processed from offshore producing blocks and other non-associated gas fields dedicated to Angola LNG. The 1 bcf/d (10.33 bcm/y) of offshore gas will produce 5.2 million t/y of LNG for export. The NOC Sonagas aims to develop an industrial park in the Soyo region, located next to the LNG facility. It will be supplied with up to 125 mmcf/d, which will be utilised to increase electricity supply, creating a petrochemicals industry, and allowing the construction of an ammonia plant. Chevron also has the largest stake (36.4%) in Angola's LNG facility; Angola's NOC Sonangol has a 22.8% interest and BP, Eni, and Total each have 13.6% holdings. Chevron currently produces around 520,000 b/d in Angola, about one quarter of the country's total oil production.