FPSO for Sankofa oil field 80% complete

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has announced that the FPSO being constructed for the Sankofa Gye Nyame Oil and Gas Project is 80 percent complete.

T he Sankofa field holds estimated proven hydrocarbon reserves of 204 million barrels of oil and 1.1 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas.

ENI, the operator, holds a 47.2 percent participating interest in the block while Vitol holds 37.8 percent.

GNPC holds a 15 percent carried interest and 5 percent additional participating interest.

Speaking at a signing ceremony to provide 700 million dollars guarantee by the World Bank, the CEO of the GNPC, Mr. Alex Mould assured that the construction of the new FPSO is on schedule.

“Currently, development works on the project are progressing steadily and within target and budget. It is worth-noting that overall progress as of August 2016 stood at 54%. The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel is 80 percent complete,” he said.

Mr. Mould stated that GNPC together with ENI and Vitol, are developing the discoveries as an integrated oil and gas project, with shared facilities on FPSO vessel.

He announced that first oil is projected to come on-stream in the third quarter of 2017, while First Gas will follow in the second quarter of 2018.

With investment requirement at US$7.9 billion, Mr. Mould maintained that the project is by far the largest ever single investment in the country.

He added that the World Bank Partial Risk Guarantee (PRG) of 700 million dollars for the project is also the largest ever by the World Bank.

He stated that the Sankofa Project is one of the few projects around the world that has progressed in spite of the challenging oil and gas environment.

Describing the project as a game-changer in the development of Ghana’s gas industry, Mr. Mould stated that the project is Ghana’s first gas-to-power project, with the capacity to supply reliably gas for more than one-and-a-half decade.

He stated that the project will produce natural gas up to 180 million standard cubic per day.

“This is enough to generate up to 1,100 megawatts of power, using the combined cycle technology. It is a landmark project which will contribute significantly to meeting Ghana’s energy security needs,” he said.

By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana