SLB hired to unlock ‘large potential’ of TotalEnergies’ Angolan deepwater project

Shortly after establishing a ten-year partnership to co-develop scalable digital solutions aimed at enhancing access to energy resources, TotalEnergies awarded SLB with a contract for a 13-well subsea production scope for a deepwater project offshore Angola.

SLB’s OneSubsea joint venture, also backed by Aker Solutions and Subsea7, has been appointed for a 13-well subsea production system scope including associated equipment and services for the development of the Kaminho project, developed by TotalEnergies and its Block 20/11 partners in two phases for the Cameia and Golfinho discoveries.

The company will support the project locally for offshore operations including assembly, manufacturing of modules, installation, commissioning, and life-of-field services. The partners said they plan to work together to deliver a sustainable project that will improve production in Angola.

During the project’s first phase of development for the Cameia field, SLB OneSubsea will collaborate with TotalEnergies to deploy a highly configurable subsea production platform with a standardized vertical monobore subsea tree, wellhead, and controls system.

The Kaminho project will overall involve more than 10 million man-hours in Angola, mainly with offshore operations and construction at local yards, SLB said.

“We are excited for this opportunity to unlock the large potential of the Kaminho project together with TotalEnergies,” said Mads Hjelmeland, CEO of SLB OneSubsea.

“Our collaborative contract model enables us to leverage both standardization and highly configurable subsea production platforms, creating greater efficiencies and long-term value for this and future projects in Angola and around the world.”

The Kaminho project, said to be the first large deepwater development in the Kwanza basin, encompasses the conversion of a very large crude carrier (VLCC) to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, which will be connected to a subsea production network.

TotalEnergies E&P Angola operates Block 20/11 with a 40% interest, alongside Petronas Angola E&P Ltd (PAEPAL, 40%) and Sonangol Pesquisa & Produção SA (20%).

The final investment decision (FID) was made in May, after which Italian engineering, drilling, and construction services provider Saipem secured a multibillion-dollar hat trick for the deepwater project.

First production is targeted for 2028, with an estimated 70,000 barrels of oil per day.

SLB and TotalEnergies recently set up a ten-year partnership to co-develop scalable digital solutions aimed at enhancing access to energy resources, with improved performance and efficiency, with the goal of addressing key challenges across the energy value chain, including carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS).

In terms of other recent news worth mentioning, SLB won a contract with Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor under which it is set to deliver the front-end engineering design (FEED) for an all-electric subsea project in Norway’s waters.

The contract came shortly after OneSubsea secured another assignment with Equinor for a project that aims to bolster gas infrastructure at a giant oil and natural gas field in the northern part of the North Sea.