The Firenze FPSO has left Dubai, setting sail for Eni’s Baleine field in Cote d’Ivoire.
The field holds around 2.5 billion barrels of oil in place and 3.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. Eni has said the development will be Africa’s first scope 1 and 2 emission net zero projects.
The ceremony to celebrate the sail away was attended by Cote d’Ivoire Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly.
Also present were Eni COO Guido Brusco, upstream director Luca Vignati and its Cote d’Ivoire managing director Nicola Mavilla.
“One of the most ambitious initiatives of Eni’s natural resources, the Baleine project, which means ‘Whale’ in French, represents not only the largest hydrocarbon field discovered in the Ivory Coast but also the first Net Zero emissions development in Africa,” said Brusco.
© Supplied by EniEni has said it will rename the FPSO once it arrives at the field. The field covers blocks CI-101 and CI-802.
The facility will have throughput of 15,000 barrels per day and 25 million cubic feet per day of gas. Installation of the subsea production system is under way and Eni aims to begin producing by June this year.
Eni is also working on a second phase to the project. This reached final investment decision (FID) in December 2022 and aims to begin production by December 2024.
The Italian company also has other blocks off Cote d’Ivoire: CI-205, CI-501, CI-401 and CI-801. It works on them with state-owned PetroCi.
Eni awarded work on the Firenze FPSO to Saipem. The contract runs for 10 years. The service company also won a contract for subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF). A pipeline will carry gas onshore.
Eni previously used the Firenze for a field off Italy. It halted work in 2018.