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TotalEnergies to start Nigeria deep-water drilling campaign in February 2023

TotalEnergies' Egina FPSO is Nigeria's biggest producing asset.

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TotalEnergies is expected to start its much-anticipated infill drilling campaign offshore Nigeria in February 2023, its partner Africa Oil Corp. has said.

The major has been planning a new drilling campaign on its flagship deepwater block OML 130 for some time, with an initial start scheduled for Q3 2022. The campaign will focus on infill drilling and could target up to 9 wells, including 2 exploration/appraisal ones.  Exploratory drilling could notably focus on the Egina Ridge and Egina South prospects.

“The rig contracted to drill the Egina infill wells is expected to commence operations in February 2023, after obtaining its final regulatory approval,” Africa Oil Corp. said in a production and operational update released today. The company is a 50% shareholder in Prime Oil & Gas, which itself holds a 16% interest in OML 130.

While the rig selected is yet to be announced, Hawilti’s Offshore Drilling Tracker shows that Noble Corp.’s Gerry de Souza drillship is a likely candidate. The rig completed a drilling campaign for TotalEnergies offshore Suriname in December 2022 and arrived in West Africa at the end of last year, data from Marine Traffic shows.

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South Africa: PetroSA seeks partner to reinstate full production at Mossel Bay GTL Refinery

South Africa’s PetroSA has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to secure a partner for the development, refurbishment, modification, upgrade, funding and/or operation of its gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery at Mossel Bay. “PetroSA is planning to reinstate to full production level its Mossel Bay Production Assets which includes the FA Platform and GTL-Refinery (Gas Loop and Liquids Refinery) in the earliest possible time at least costs following suspension of production in 2020 due to feedstock challenges,” the company said in its RFP document consulted by Hawilti. While the 36,000 bpd refinery has not been able to produce since 2020, its outlook changed when TotalEnergies made significant gas and condensate discoveries at Brulpadda and Luiperd in 2019 and 2020, within its deep-water Block 11B/12B. Both discoveries have the potential to supply gas to the domestic market and provide the feedstock required to restart operations at PetroSA’s GTL refinery and reach full production capacity by 2027/2028. TotalEnergies and its partners are already working on an early production scheme (EPS) that would provide first gas and condensate production from the Luiperd discovery. The project would likely utilize PetroSA’s nearby infrastructure, including the FA Platform, in order to supply gas to customers in Mossel Bay. Interested parties for the development and upgrade of the Mossel Bay GTL Refinery have until February 20th to submit their applications for a turnkey solution from design to commissioning, including funding and feedstock security. PetroSA has notably expressed its interest to link the success of the projects to financial incentives, including sharing in production revenues, performance-based contracting, or equity participation.

Wison starts construction of new FLNG project for Eni in Congo

Wison Offshore & Marine held yesterday its 1st Cutting Ceremony for a new floating LNG unit it is constructing for Eni in the Republic of Congo. The ceremony took place at the Nantong yard, where Wison (Nantong) Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. will be constructing the 2.4 mtpa unit. The project is expected to be commissioned in 2025 on Eni’s shallow water Marine XII Block offshore Congo-Brazzaville. It is part of Eni’s phased gas valorisation plan to develop and monetise the gas reserves on the license. Phase 1 relies on the 0.6 mtpa Tango FLNG which Eni acquired from Exmar in 2022 and where first production is expected in H2 2023 to monetise available gas from the Litchendjili et Néné-Banga fields. Once both projects are commissioned, the block will have an LNG export capacity of 3 mtpa, or 4.5 Bcm/year.