Angola

Total has agreed to acquire interests in two blocks in the offshore Kwanza Basin from Angola’s state-owned Sonangol and has received an extension on its offshore Block 17 production licenses.

The Italian operator reported positive appraisal and exploration results from wells drilled some 10,000 km apart.

The facility will serve as a hub to support customers and projects in the Angola and Southern Africa region.

The Agidigbo find follows the Kalimba, Afoxé, Agogo, and Ndungu discoveries. The five discoveries combined hold an estimated 1.8 billion bbl of light oil in place.

Conventional oil and gas discovered resources in 2019 are on pace to rise 30% from last year and reach their highest level since the beginning of the industry downturn. Here, a recap of the first quarter's 15 biggest oil and gas discoveries, which altogether are propelling the increase.

The startup of a second FPSO will add 115,000 BOPD to the deepwater project offshore Angola, bringing overall production capacity to 230,000 BOPD.

Sanctioned in 2014, the project is the largest deepwater offshore development in Angola. It will produce an estimated 230,000 BOPD from six different fields at peak.

Production from an offshore Angola field has been decreasing because of subsea pressure declines amid water-cut increases and limited gas compressor capacity. The development process leading to the selection of high-boosting multiphase pumps is described.

The startup of the 1300-m water depth field is Eni’s fifth new field since 2014 in its West End development offshore Angola.

Completion of the umbilicals system marks another step toward startup for the Total-operated ultradeepwater development offshore Angola.