Deepwater Roundup 2024: Offshore Africa

Deepwater projects are a key source for global energy, and Hart Energy’s four-part Deepwater Roundup highlights some of the latest and greatest subsea developments.

Offshore Africa, new projects are progressing, with a number of high-reserve offshore developments being planned in countries not typically known for deepwater activity, such as Phase 2 of the Baleine project on the Ivory Coast.

Asia is home to some of the largest gas producing nations, including Malaysia, which is the one of the world’s largest LNG exporters.

The Americas are home to many deepwater projects, and while the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Brazil are prominent targets for deepwater development, Guyana is slowly but surely becoming a powerhouse in its own right.

And Europe, home to many operators and projects, has its own mix of deepwater oil and gas developments.

The first in a multi-part series, the following Deepwater Roundup looks at projects offshore Africa.

Part two will cover deepwater projects in Australasia.

Agogo

Expected to reach first oil by 2026, Azule Energy’s Agogo hub project offshore Angola will develop the Agogo and Ndungu fields with 21 new production wells and 15 injection wells. Located in Block 15/06 in a water depth of 5,500 ft, the sanctioned project will produce to the existing Ngoma FPSO and the new Agogo FPSO.

Yinson Production and Azule Energy announced in October that they are partnering to pilot an offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant on the Agogo FPSO in Angola. The plant will be the world’s first post-combustion carbon capture unit installed on board an FPSO.

Yinson will supply the Agogo FPSO along with field operations and maintenance services, while Baker Hughes will supply the subsea production system, including 23 standard subsea trees, 11 Aptara manifolds and SemStar5 fiber optic controls, among other equipment.

The Agogo FPSO will have capacity for 120,000 bbl/d of oil, 230 MMcf/d of gas injection and 120,000 bbl/d of water injection. Peak production is expected to average 175,000 bbl/d.

TMC Compressors will supply a large-capacity marine compressed air system for the Agogo FPSO.

Aker Solutions will supply the umbilical system under a contract that includes the engineering, manufacturing and delivery of a complete umbilical system— 22 miles of dynamic and static subsea production control umbilicals.

TechnipFMC will supply the risers and flowlines under a contract that includes the engineering, procurement and supply of jumpers, flowlines and risers. Saipem will supply rigid pipe-in-pipe flowlines. Subsea7 will install the risers, flowlines and subsea structures.

Eni Angola SPA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Azule Energy, operates Block 15/06 with 36.85% interest on behalf of partners Sonangol P&P with 36.84% and SSI Fifteen Ltd. with 26.32%.

Azule Energy is an incorporated joint venture (JV) between BP Plc and Eni SpA, with BP and Eni each holding a 50% share.

Baleine Phase 2

After Phase 1 of Eni’s Baleine project offshore Côte d’Ivoire came online in August 2023, the operator set its sights on Phase 2, also located in Block CI-101.

Block CI-101 was initially estimated to hold over 2 Bbbl of oil and 2.4 Tcf of associated gas. In 2022, a second discovery in the field drove the estimate up to 2.5 Bbbl of oil and 3.3 Tcf of associated gas.

At a production rate of 20,000 bbl/d, Phase 1 is pumping 8,000 more bbl/d than expected.

Phase 2 is anticipated to begin production by the end of 2024. Phase 2, which is in 3,900 ft of water, will increase field output to 50,000 bbl/d of oil and 70 MMcf/d of gas.

In September, Eni Côte d’Ivoire and Petroci awarded Saipem a subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) contract for Baleine Phase 2. The scope encompasses engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of approximately 12 miles of rigid lines, six miles of flexible risers and jumpers and nine miles of umbilicals connected to a dedicated floating unit.

In October 2023, Altera Infrastructure won redeployment contracts for the FPSO Voyageur Spirit and the Nordic Brasilia shuttle tanker to be used for Baleine Phase 2. The Nordic Brasilia will be converted into a floating storage unit (FSO) to provide additional storage capacity to the Voyageur FPSO. The vessels are set for deployment on the Baleine Field with a 15-year firm contract.

In February, Altera Infrastructure awarded DOF a contract for the project management, engineering, transportation, installation and hook-up of the two floating units to be used in Phase 2. DOF will install the FPSO and FSO along with seabed mooring systems and a flowline between the FSO and FPSO.

Eni holds a 90% operated interest in the field, and Petroci Holdings 10%.

Cameia-Golfinho

TotalEnergies’ Cameia-Golfinho project offshore Angola is expected to reach first production in 2027. Located in Block 20 in the Kwanza Basin offshore Angola, the field lies in 5,610 ft of water and holds an estimated 420 MMboe of recoverable reserves.

Final investment decision (FID) is expected in 2024 on the project, which is expected to feature an FPSO capable of handling 70,000 bbl/d. The FPSO will be connected to a subsea network of wells, use electrical generation from a cycle turbine and follow a zero-flaring concept.

The project will also include the development of a combined cycle turbine for electricity generation and subsea pipelines and additional infrastructure to connect the Cameia and Golfinho wells.

At the end of September 2023, TotalEnergies EP Angola Block 20 finalized the sale to Petronas Angola E&P Ltd. of a 40% interest in Block 20 in the Kwanza Basin in Angola for $400 million. TotalEnergies now operates the blocks with a 40% interest in each block, while Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção SA holds the remaining 20%.

Greater Tortue Ahmeyim

BP’s oft-delayed Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA), which has endured delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contractor issues and FPSO repairs, is now expected to reach first gas on Phase 1 of the project in third-quarter 2024.

GTA Phase 1 is in Block C-8 offshore Mauritania and Saint-Louis Offshore Profond Block offshore Senegal. The field, in 9,350 ft water depth, spans five blocks offshore the two countries, with three blocks offshore Mauritania and two offshore Senegal. Phase 1 of the project, which is the largest in BP’s portfolio, reached FID in 2018 and is expected to produce around 2.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG.

The project will export gas to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim FPSO approximately 25 miles offshore. The gas will be processed and liquids separated on the vessel. The FPSO left the COSCO shipyard in China in January 2023, and after some delays, arrived at the field in February 2024.

The gas processed at the GTA FPSO will be exported to a floating LNG facility (FLNG) six miles offshore. Golar LNG converted the Gimi FLNG from a 1975-built Moss LNG carrier with a storage capacity of 125,000 cu. m. The 2.5 mtpa FLNG Gimi vessel is on-site at the GTA Field following a voyage from the Seatrium conversion yard in Singapore.

In January, Petrofac won a three-year operations services contract from BP for the project. The multi-million-dollar master services agreement covers onshore and offshore management and supervision, provision of personnel and equipment maintenance.

McDermott International won the EPCI contract for SURF while Baker Hughes won the contract to provide five large-bore deepwater horizontal christmas trees — a six-slot dual bore manifold, a pipeline end manifold, subsea distribution units, three subsea isolation valves, diverless connections and subsea production control systems. TechnipFMC won a contract for the EPCI and commissioning of the FPSO that will be deployed for the project.

BP is evaluating a gravity-based structure as the basis for Phase 2; however, BP has been forced to delay FID on the larger 7.5 mtpa Phase 2 due to deteriorating relations between the countries and an attendant range of unresolved technical, commercial and security issues.

BP operates the project with 56% interest on behalf of partners Kosmos Energy with 27% interest, Petrosen with 10% and Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH) with 7%.

The Saint-Louis Offshore Profond Block offshore Senegal is operated by BP with a 60% working interest, with partners Kosmos Energy (30%) and Petrosen (10%).

The C-8 Block offshore Mauritania is operated by BP with a 62% stake, while Kosmos Energy holds 28% and SMH with 10%.

Pecan

In July 2023, Ghana approved the plan of development for the Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points block offshore Ghana. The block is home to the Pecan Energies-operated Pecan Field. FID on Phase 1 of the Pecan development is expected in 2024.

The $3.5 billion development plan involves work on the Pecan Field in two phases. These two phases should result in the production of 268 MMbbl. In the wider contract area, the operator estimates the recoverable resource potential to be 550 MMboe.

Phase 1 will include an FPSO tied back to a subsea production system comprised of 26 subsea wells, including 14 oil producer wells and 12 water and gas injector wells.

Pecan Energies has a 50% stake in the license, while Lukoil Overseas Ghana Tano has 38%, Ghana National Petroleum Corp. 10% and Fueltrade 2%. Lukoil is currently weighing a decision to sell their stake in the field.

Rovuma

The Exxon-operated Rovuma LNG project has faced a series of delays, from the COVID-19 pandemic to insurgents in Mozambique. Now, Exxon anticipates FID on the 2011 discovery in 2025 with start-up in 2028.

Originally conceived as a plant producing 15.2 mtpa, the project is now planned as an 18 mtpa LNG export facility in 4,920 ft of water in the Area 4 Block of the Rovuma Basin, offshore Mozambique. The facility will include a dozen 1.5 mtpa modular LNG trains to reach the 18 mpta total capacity.

Eni is constructing and operating the upstream facilities on behalf of Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV), while Exxon Mobil will lead the construction and operation of the LNG and associated facilities for the block.

MRV is a joint venture with operator Exxon Mobil (with 40% interest), Eni (40%) and CNPC (20%). MRV holds a 70% interest in the Area 4 concession. Galp, KOGAS, and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos each hold 10% interest in the block.

Sangomar

After being delayed due to unexpected remedial work in July 2023, the Léopold Sédar Senghor FPSO, which will serve the Sangomar Field, arrived offshore Senegal in February.

First oil at Woodside Energy-operated Sangomar Field is expected in mid-2024, delayed from its original start date of late 2023. The project, in about 2,560 ft water depth and approximately 62 miles south of Dakar, Senegal, includes a standalone FPSO and subsea infrastructure. The FPSO’s production capacity is 100,000 bbl/d. The vessel can also accommodate 145,000 bbl/d of water injection and store 1.3 MMbbl of crude oil. This project marks Senegal’s first offshore oil project.

RELATED: Woodside Brings in the Know-how

With the FPSO delivered, Woodside will now work to commission the unit and hook up Phase 1, which includes 23 production, gas and water injection wells. As of December 2023, Phase 1 was 93% complete, with 17 of the 23 wells drilled and completed.

Diamond Offshore started its drilling campaign in July 2021 and was joined by the Ocean BlackHawk in July 2022. Woodside Energy awarded MODEC International the contract to supply the FPSO. Subsea Integration Alliance, a JV of OneSubsea, SLB and Subsea 7, handled SURF work.

Woodside operates the field with 82% interest on behalf of partner Petrosen with 18%.