Archive for January 2011
Ghana’s first oil production expenditure within original budget – Tullow
The first commercial oil produced from Ghana’s Jubilee field was within budget, says Tullow Oil.
According to Tullow Oil the first successful oil production which was achieved on schedule within 40 months of discovery was also within estimated budget.
Commenting, Tullow Oil’s CEO, Aiden Heavey said “In 2010 we achieved exceptional exploration success and together with our partners delivered ‘First Oil’ on schedule in Ghana by year-end, and was within its original budget.”
According to the UK oil and gas explorer which owns majority share in Ghana’s Jubilee oil field, the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years, the final cost of the first oil production is “expected to be within 10% of the original $3.1 billion budget.”
This was revealed in Tullow Oil’s trading statement and operational update published January 27, 2011 on its website.
According to the statement, Tullow is expecting a full production capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day in the next six months.
“Current gross production is around 50,000 bopd from four wells and full production capacity of 120,000 bopd is expected to be reached within six months as the remaining five production wells are completed and brought on stream”, it said.
Production of oil from the Phase 1 development of the Jubilee field was inaugurated by the President J. E. A. Mills of Ghana in a First Oil ceremony on December 15, 2010.
After lifting the first 650,000 barrel cargo Jubilee crude oil on January 5, 2011, Tullow said a water injection to two wells which is currently 75,000 barrels of water per day and a further four water injection wells will be completed during 2011 to maintain production levels.
The statement however said a gas compression commissioning on the FPSO commenced in January with gas injection to the reservoir is scheduled to start in February 2011.
To help maintain field production levels and develop further reserves, Tullow is planning work for Phase 1a, of the Jubilee fields to comprise between five and eight infill wells which started in fourth quarter 2010 adding “It is anticipated that the investment decision will be made in third quarter 2011 following analysis of reservoir performance and submission of plans to the Government of Ghana.”
“A Declaration of Commerciality for the Mahogany-East discovery (previously known as “Southeast Jubilee”) was submitted by the Operator of the West Cape Three Points licence, in September 2010 and a Plan of Development is currently being prepared.”
The statement added that “The development of the Mahogany-East reservoirs, which are extensive but generally thinner than in the main Jubilee reservoirs, will be either a standalone development or a tie-back to the existing Jubilee field subsea infrastructure.”
Tullow however hinted that it is planning a secondary listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
In November 2010, Tullow announced that in order to create a more accessible opportunity for Ghanaian individuals and institutions to invest in the future of the oil industry.
“Originally planned for December, the Listing has been postponed due to the requirement over that period to focus on First Oil from the Jubilee field and year-end corporate planning”, Tullow said.
http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2011/01/31/ghana%E2%80%99s-first-oil-production-expenditure-within-original-budget-tullow/
Work Begins on Gas Pipe From Ghana’s Jubilee, Daily Graphic Says
Construction started in Ghana on a natural gas pipeline to bring fuel from the offshore Jubilee oil field to the Jomoro district near the border with Ivory Coast, the Daily Graphic reported, citing an executive at Technip SA.
Technip will install a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) undersea pipeline as part of the project, the Accra-based newspaper said, citing Stephane Sole, country manager for the French company.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Accra on jmclure
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-31/work-begins-on-gas-pipe-from-ghana-s-jubilee-daily-graphic-says.html
More gas to flow as Jubilee Gas Project begins
Work has begun on the multi- billion dollar Jubilee Gas Project to harness the country’s natural gas deposits with the laying of flow lines to pipe the gas from the Jubilee Field to the Jomoro District of the Western Region.
Technip, the company which did the subsea installation for oil production for the Jubilee partners, has been contracted by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to engineer, weld and install a 14-kilometre rigid steel flow line under Phase I of the project for onward extension to the shore.
Under the current phase, the flow lines will be connected to the gas export riser linked to the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah for onward transportation to the shore. Officials say the flow lines will constitute the deep-water section of a pipeline which will be used to pipe natural gas from the Jubilee Field to the onshore processing plant.
At the moment the move by the country to harness its natural gas has attracted the attention of power producers and other companies that are interested in the production of fertilizer, ammonia, urea and methanol using natural gas.
Technip has successfully completed the fabrication and spooling of the 14 kilometres of 12, 75-inch flow lines on board the laying vessel, Apache II, at the Technip Spool Base in Alabama, USA, and the vessel is expected to arrive in Ghana next Thursday.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Ghana Country manager for Technip, Mr. Stephane Sole, said the company did not engage only its own expertise but also involved some officials of GNPC in the process of designing and welding the flow lines, as well as the procurement and engineering staff at its Paris office during the preparation phase.
He said the move was to afford Technip the opportunity to transfer its skills and knowledge to Ghana through the GNPC, a policy which was in line with its resolve not only to work for the country but also enhance the skills of Ghanaians, whom he described as curious and highly trainable.
Mr. Sole said the onshore operations would be run from the Sekondi naval base which had supported Technip since its arrival in the country. The Apache II, he said, was fully loaded with the flow lines and would start work immediately it arrived, as the initial preparations had been concluded.
He said the offshore operations would integrate workers form the GNPC to attend to the operations offshore, saying, “Within our onshore team to support the offshore operations there will also be the involvement of the GNPC team during the whole project, from engineering to installation.” Mr. Sole said there had been meetings with lead operators of the Jubilee Field partners, including the GNPC, and they had been very co-operative.
“From the beginning of the project, the permanent and effective communication among the GNPC, Tullow oil and the partners and Technip will be one of the key factors for the success of these operations,” he said.
http://www.citifmonline.com/site/news/news/view/23208/1
Ghana can learn from Trinidad & Tobago’s oil and gas success strory
The Caribbean island state of Trinidad and Tobago is a success story and good example of a developing country that has made the most from its oil and gas industry.
The country is among the world’s five leading exporters of natural gas and so, news about a joint oil venture between that country and Ghana is encouraging.
It is also the single largest supplier of liquid natural gas (LNG) to the US, providing two-thirds of all LNG imported into the US since 2002.
Ghana can learn from Trinidad and Tobago and derive greater benefits from its oil and gas.
In 2009 a delegation arrived from Trinidad and Tobago to explore possibilities of getting opportunities in Ghana’s nascent oil and gas industry. Officials expressed the desire to share the country’s about 50 years in the oil and gas industry with Ghana.
The delegation emphasized the need for Ghana to involve local participation in the industry.
Trinidad and Tobago is reputed for making the best out of its oil and gas industry by taking over the gas sector and commercializing it.
It is said that when the oil companies producing oil said they weren’t ready to trap and process the gas, the country said it would not allow flaring. The country quickly built infrastructure near the production site, bottled the escaping natural gas as oil was being produced, bottled it and sold.
This is a valuable lesson Ghana can learn from Trinidad and Togabo.
Trinidad and Tobago has transitioned from an oil-based economy to one based on natural gas. The country produced 115.2 million cubic meters of gas per day over the period October 2007 through April 2008 up from 111.9 million cubic meters per day over the same period in 2006-2007, according to information on the US State Department website.
About half of the country’s natural gas production is converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the Atlantic LNG facility in Trinidad and exported under long-term contracts and on the spot market.
The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar told the media in her country last week that Ghana’s cabinet has approved "in principle" an oil and gas proposal for a joint venture between the two countries.
She indicated that her country will be using its knowledge of the petroleum industry through economic and technical co-operation with Ghana.
Ghana needs to learn from the best examples and success stories in the oil and gas industry. More importantly, looking at Ghana’s over 100 years experience with the mining industry, it is in the country’s interest to avoid pitfalls associated with the oil and gas sector.
Reporting Oil and Gas 