Exxon Angola Kizomba Project Starts Production

BP confirmed today the start of oil production from the Exxon Mobil-operated Kizomba Satellites phase 2 development in Block 15, offshore Angola.

The deepwater project is expected to produce around 70,000 barrels of oil per day at peak, and is expected to increase total daily Block 15 production to 350,000 barrels.

“This is the first of BP’s planned start-ups for 2015 and is another successful project from this prolific block,” said Darryl Willis, BP’s regional president, Angola. “We expect to follow this up later in the year with the Greater Plutonio phase 3 project in neighbouring Block 18 which is operated by BP.”

Kizomba Satellites phase 2 is a subsea infrastructure development of the Kakocha, Bavuca and Mondo South fields, tied back to the existing Kizomba B and Mondo Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels and is expected to recover around 190 million barrels of oil.

The project scope includes subsea wells, FPSO topside modifications and installation of flowlines and subsea equipment. The development is located approximately 150 kilometres off the coast of Angola in water depths of around 1350 metres.

Partners in Block 15 are BP (26.67%); ExxonMobil (operator, 40%); ENI (20%); Statoil (13.33%). Sonangol is the concessionaire.

“This exemplifies ExxonMobil’s project management expertise and the capabilities of local suppliers and businesses that helped maximize the value of Angola’s petroleum resources,” said Neil W. Duffin, president of ExxonMobil Development Company. “As a result, our team achieved the best safety performance to date among the major Block 15 projects and reached a high level of Angolan participation.”

Exxon has said that nearly $740 million has been invested in Angola for the project, including contracts for fabrication, logistics support and training and development of Angolan personnel.

“Achieving successful startup has a lot do with the strong partnership between ExxonMobil and other Block 15 co-venturers, the government of Angola, most notably the Ministry of Petroleum, and Sonangol,” Duffin said.