Italian oil company Eni has started production from the Mpungi field in the West Hub Development Project, within Block 15/06 of the Angolan Deep Offshore, approximately 350 kilometres northwest of Luanda and 130 kilometres west of Soyo.
The start-up of Mpungi field, which follows the West Hub’s first oil from the Sangos field in November 2014 and the Cinguvu field in early April 2015, will bring to a production ramp-up to approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day in 1Q 2016, the Italian company said on Monday.
The West Hub Development Project encompasses the development of the Sangos, Cinguvu, Mpungi, Mpungi North, Ochigufu and Vandumbu fields in a water depth ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 meters. The wells are arranged in clusters and connected to the N’Goma FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit), which has a treatment capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
“The third start-up milestone of the West Hub Development project has been achieved both on budget and on schedule. This achievement reflects our ability to deliver major projects and confirms our excellent track record in terms of efficiency, technology and innovation,” commented Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi .
Eni is also continuing its exploration programme in Block 15/06: if successful, new discoveries would be connected to the existing production infrastructure with a reduction of time and costs production, Eni said.
Eni is the operator of Block 15/06 with a 36.84% stake, the other partners of the joint venture are Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (36.84%) and SSI Fifteen Limited (26.32%).
The block 15/06 also includes the East Hub Development Project, which is under development and will start producing in 2017.