French oil and gas company Total has started production on the Kaombo Sul floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit at the Kaombo project offshore Luanda in Angola.
Total completes Angola's Kaombo offshore project
The Kaombo project is located 260 kilometers off the coast of Luanda, in water depths ranging from 1,400-2,000 meters.
Total is the operator with a 30% interest in the project. Other partners include Sonangol (30%), Sonangol Sinpoec (20%), Esso Exploration & Production Angola (15%) and Galp Energia (5%).
The full Kaombo development consist of six fields over an area of 800km2. The Mostarda, Canela and Louro fields will be connected to the Kaombo Sul vessel, with the Gengibre, Gindungo and Caril fields connected to its sister vessel Kaombo Norte.
Oil production began at the Kaombo project through the Kaombo Norte on July 2018, and the Kaombo Sul is expected to add 115,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to the oil and gas already produced by its sister vessel. This will bring the overall production capacity to 230,000bopd, equivalent to 15% of Angola’s production.
Associated gas from Kaombo Sul will be exported to the Angola liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant as part of Total’s commitment to prevent routine flaring. The Kaombo project also sets a new record for local content in Angola, with 20% of the 110 million project hours worked locally.
Total president of exploration and production Arnaud Breuillac 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.”