NOBLE ENERGY HAS received government approval for its US$1.6bn development plan for the Alen gas-condensate project, off Equatorial Guinea.p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">NOBLE ENERGY HAS received government approval for its US$1.6bn development plan for the Alen gas-condensate project, off Equatorial Guinea.
Noble said its initial field development would include three production wells and three subsea natural gas injection wells tied to a processing platform on Block O in the Douala basin.
It added the Alen processing facility would be located in about 240 feet of water and would be designed to handle 440 mmcfd of gas and 40,000 bpd of condensate.
Produced condensate will be separated and piped to the Aseng floating production, storage, and offloading vessel on Block I, 15 miles to the south, where it will be held until sold.
Noble said it planned to re-inject the associated natural gas back into the reservoir to maintain pressure and maximise liquid recoveries
First production from Alen is expected to commence by the end of 2013 at 37,500 barrels of condensate per day, with gas reinjection estimated to be 380 mmcfd during gas-recycling.
Noble said it expected to recover about 88mn barrels of condensate at the field, and added there was also an estimated 930 bcf of gas at Alen that would ultimately be produced as part of Equatorial Guinea's integrated gas monetisation project.
The front-end engineering and design work for Alen has already been completed and Noble said it was currently negotiating and awarding key project contracts, including the platform facility construction and installation.