Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Commercial Production

Commercial Production

Ghana started commercial production of offshore oil in 2009 after decades of exploration.

The first project commenced in the Jubilee field located in the Gulf of Guinea, 60 km off the Ghana coast, near the Côte d’Ivoire border.

Source: GNPC
Source: GNPC

According to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Jubilee Field spread out in the Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points blocks.

The Jubilee Field

Source: GNPC
Source: GNPC

The wells are at a water depth between 1,100 and 1,300 meters and at a total depth between 3,400 and 4,200 meters.

The field covers 110 km², which is about the size of 155 football pitches.

Source: GNPC
Source: GNPC
Source: GNPC
Source: GNPC

Another project, set to commence oil and gas production in 2016 is the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) field.

Publication by Tullow Ghana Ltd, indicates that  in March 2009, the Eirik Raude rig successfully drilled the Tweneboa-1 wildcat well in the Deepwater Tano licence, around 20 km west of Tullow’s Jubilee field and some 45 km offshore from the Ghana mainland.

This initial discovery was followed up by a series of further successful appraisal and exploration wells which resulted in the discovery of the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) field.

Source: International Energy Statistics, February 2015
Source: International Energy Statistics, February 2015
Source: International Energy Statistics
Source: International Energy Statistics

Similar to Jubilee, the development includes the use of an FPSO which has a facility production capacity of 80,000 bopd which will be tied in to subsea infrastructure across the field.

The vessel was converted in Singapore and in September 2015, the vessel was officially named ‘FPSO Prof. John Evans Atta Mills’, after the late Ghanaian president who oversaw First Oil from Ghana’s Jubilee Field in 2010.

To date, all the key milestones of the project have been met, including the sail away of the FPSO from Singapore to Ghana on 23 January 2016.

The FPSO’s arrival in Ghana is expected to be in early March 2016 and the vessel will move directly to the installation phase where it will be fixed to the seabed using pre-installed anchor chains and piles.

This is followed by the hook-up of subsea facilities to the FPSO via flowline risers and control umbilicals, much of which has also been pre-installed.

The eleven pre-drilled wells are now being completed with the sixth completion under way.

The integrated facilities will undergo final commissioning and testing during the second quarter and following start-up in July/August 2016, a gradual ramp up in production towards plateau is anticipated during the second half of 2016.

Tullow estimates that TEN average production in 2016 will be around 23,000 bopd gross (net: 11,000 bopd).