Exclusive: Kaombo Norte begins testing

Kaombo Norte, the first FPSO for Angola’s Block 32, left its base in Singapore for marine tests on Tuesday, Laurent Maurel, Total E&P Angola’s general manager, told TOGY.

The testing is expected to take a few weeks and the FPSO is set to arrive in Angolan waters in mid-April. In February, ALP won a tow-assist contract to transport the vessel.

Saipem has been converting the turret-moored Kaombo Norte and Kaombo Sul FPSOs, which will have an oil treatment capacity of 115,000 bopd, injection capacity of 200,000 bpd, compression capacity of 2.83 mcm (100 mcf) per day and storage capacity of 1.7 million barrels of oil.

The Kaombo project is a USD 16-billion ultra-deepwater offshore project in Block 32, about 260 kilometres from Angola’s coastline, which began in October 2014. Kaombo has estimated reserves of 650 million barrels of oil, and production is due to start in 2018. Once the project has come on stream, full output is expected to be 230,000 bopd, accounting for some 13% of Angola’s targeted daily rate by that time. 

Total is the operator with a 30% interest, with partners including Sonangol P&P (30%), Sonangol Sinopec International (20%), Esso (15%) and Galp Energia (5%).