Oil major Total announced that production has started on Kaombo Sul, the second floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit of the Kaombo project offshore Luanda in Angola
The project is located on Block 32, 260 km off the coast of Luanda, in water depths ranging from 1,400 to 2,000 m.
Kaombo Sul will add 115,000 bopd and bring the overall production capacity to 230,000 bopd, equivalent to 15 per cent of the country’s production. Kaombo Sul’s associated gas will be exported to the Angola LNG plant as part of the group’s commitment to stop routine flaring.
Arnaud Breuillac, president exploration and production at Total, said, “Leveraging the experience of Kaombo Norte, Kaombo Sul started up in the best possible conditions. This second FPSO stands out as an excellent example of standardization to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Its start-up will contribute to the group’s cash flow and production growth in 2019 and beyond.”
“This achievement demonstrates once again Total’s commitment to Angola, as the group develops short cycle projects on Block 17 in parallel and prepares to drill an exploration well on Block 48,” he added.
The complete development of Kaombo consists of six fields over an area of 800 sq km. Gengibre, Gindungo and Caril were connected to the Kaombo Norte FPSO which started last year, while the three fields, Mostarda, Canela and Louro, have now been connected to Kaombo Sul.
The project comprises a large subsea system including 59 wells (with more than 60 per cent of them already drilled), and two FPSO units which were converted from very large crude carriers.
Kaombo also sets a new record for local content in Angola as 20 per cent of the 110mn project hours were worked locally.
Total operates Block 32 with a 30 per cent participating interest. Other partners include Sonangol P&P (30 per cent), Sonangol Sinopec International 32 Limited (20 per cent), Esso Exploration & Production Angola (Overseas) Limited (15 per cent) and Galp Energia Overseas Block 32 B.V. (5 per cent).
