Total fires up second Kaombo FPSO offshore Angola

French oil company Total has started up production on Kaombo Sul, the second floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit of the Kaombo project, located on Block 32, 260 kilometers off the coast of Luanda,

The FPSO is located in water depths ranging from 1,400 to 2,000 meters. As previously reported, the company in charge of FPSO hook-up and mooring activities was Saipem with Petrolis responsible for rigging and rope access scope.

Saipem was awarded a $4 billion contract for the conversion and delivery of two FPSOs for the Kaombo project, following the final investment decision made by operator Total in April 2014.

According to Total’s statement on Tuesday, eight months after its sister ship, Kaombo Norte, came on stream, Kaombo Sul will add 115,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and bring the overall production capacity to 230,000 bopd, equivalent to 15% of the country’s production. The associated gas from Kaombo Sul will be exported to the Angola LNG plant, as part of the group’s commitment to stop routine flaring.

“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,” stated Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production at Total.

“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.”

The full Kaombo development consists of six fields spread over an area of 800 km2. Gengibre, Gindungo and Caril were connected to the Kaombo Norte FPSO which started up last year, while the three fields, Mostarda, Canela and Louro, have now been connected to Kaombo Sul.

The project comprises a large subsea system including 59 wells (with over 60% of them already drilled), and two FPSO units which were converted from Very Large Crude Carriers.

Total operates Block 32 with a 30% participating interest, along with Sonangol P&P (30%), Sonangol Sinopec International 32 Limited (20%), Esso Exploration & Production Angola (Overseas) Limited (15%) and Galp Energia Overseas Block 32 B.V. (5%).

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