Tullow Ghana (LON:TLW) has awarded a five-year operations and maintenance (O&M) contract to Petrofac Ghana (LON:PFC) on the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.
Modec Production Services previously held the contract, but this ended on June 30.
Tullow said Petrofac was the largest of the companies working on O&M at the FPSO. All these companies are local Ghanaian firms or local joint ventures, it said.
Tullow CEO Rahul Dhir said the agreement with Petrofac would build on the service company’s years of experience.
“In particular, Petrofac’s experience in workforce training will be key in helping Tullow develop Ghanaian talent in leadership roles in the management of Ghana’s offshore facilities. As we embark on this change, I want to thank Modec for the support they have provided us over the last 12 years,” Dhir said.
Tullow said the shift in O&M work on the FPSO was part of its long-term vision. The operator intends to improve safety performance, cut operating costs and improve production efficiency.
The Kwame Nkrumah is on Ghana’s Jubilee field. It has capacity to handle 120,000 barrels per day of oil and store 1.6 million barrels.
Coastal expansion
Nick Shorten, COO for Petrofac’s asset solutions business, welcomed the deal.
“We bring our considerable global FPSO experience to Ghana, also putting us in a good position to support other similar facilities in the region. Petrofac has been in North Africa for more than two decades and now we are building our presence across the continent, growing local jobs, developing local skills and collaborating with local partners,” said Shorten.
Petrofac recently won decommissioning work from Tullow, offshore Mauritania. The service company took over the contract from Maersk Decommissioning.
Tullow said it planned to operate the Jubilee and TEN FPSOs itself. The company set out a goal to reach net zero on scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. Improving performance at the FPSOs will play a role.
In particular, it aims to eliminate routine flaring in Ghana by 2025. It is upgrading the Kwame Nkrumah’s gas handling capacity to this end.
The field produced 74,900 bpd in 2021, of which 26,600 bpd was net to Tullow. This year, gross production should reach 80,000-84,000 bpd.