Work on the delayed Kaombo project in Angola is set to kick off following a cost reduction by the licence operator, Total.
The French multinational has taken $4billion off the capital expenditure bill for the development of the block 32 field, down to $16billion, looking to move the project to the next stage.
The work had stalled previously as the joint partners in the venture: Sonangol P&P (30% interest), Sonangol Sinopec International (20%) and ExxonMobil (15%) complained about the large costs related to the ultra-deep offshore exploration, including the country’s requirement for locally employed and trained staff.
Located approximately 260 kilometres offshore Luanda in water depths ranging from 1,400 to 1,900 meters, the Kaombo project sets out the development of six of the 12 discoveries already made on block 32, covering an area of 800 square kilometres in the central and southeast part of the block.
The Kaombo development scheme includes 59 subsea wells, connected through around 300 kilometres of subsea lines, to two floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, each with a production capacity of 115,000 barrels per day. Associated gas will be exported to the onshore Angola LNG plant.
Over 14 million man-hours of fabrication and construction works will be performed locally in Angolan yards which will be used for equipment fabrication and assembly.
Kaombo holds an estimated 650million barrels of oil equivalent in place, with an expected start-up in 2017.
“With the launch of Kaombo, the upcoming start-up of CLOV(Cravo, Lirio, Orquidea and Violeta discoveries) and three exploration wells planned in the Kwanza basin this year, Angola remains a priority country for Total” said Yves-Louis Darricarrère, president of Total Upstream.
“While continuing our commitment to develop the Angolan oil industry, Total has significantly optimized the project’s design and contracting strategy in recent months.
“Kaombo illustrates both the group’s capital discipline and objective to reduce capex.”