Earlier this month, French oil major Total, started production on its second floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit in the Kaombo project, offshore Angola.
Coming online just eight months after the Kaombo Norte, the Kaombo Sul is located on Block 32, 260km off the coast of Luanda, in water depths ranging from 1,400m to 2,000m, and is set to contribute 115,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), bringing the projects production capacity to 230,000 bpd.
The launch of this project comes at an opportune time as the Angolan petroleum industry undergoes a transformative period. In particular, with the ministry having announced the upcoming oil and gas licensing round – a first in eight years for the country.
“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,” said President of Exploration and Production at Total, Arnaud Breuillac.
Further communicating the major’s commitment to Angola, Total is also developing a short cycle project on Block 17, in parallel and preparing to drill an exploration well on Block 48.
Total remains the number one operator in the country. It operates Block 32 and holds a 30 percent participating interest.
“Renewed upstream activity in Angola by international operators is a direct result of the wave of reforms being undertaken by the Lourenço administration to profoundly transform the governance of Angola’s oil & gas industry,” declared Centurion CEO NJ Ayuk. “From dedicated gas regulations to a new oil-licensing strategy, everything is being done to incentivize exploration and production, and foreign investors have been responding very positively to these measures so far.”
The country’s oil and gas licensing round will be launched at the Angola Oil & Gas 2019 Conference and Exhibition hosted by Africa Oil & Power. Learn more about the conference here.
