Italian oil and gas company Eni has started production from the Vandumbu field in Block 15/06 offshore Angola, through the West Hub N’Goma FPSO.
The Block 15/06 is located approximately 350 km North west of Luanda and 130 km west of Soyo.
Eni said on Monday that the first oil from the Vandumbu field was achieved in late November 2018, three months ahead of schedule.
This, along with the start-up of a subsea multiphase boosting system (SMBS) achieved in early December, is boosting the oil production from Block 15/06 by 20,000 barrels of oil per day via West Hub’s N’Goma FPSO.
The ramp-up of Vandumbu will be completed in 1Q 2019, to achieve a total production of about 170,000 barrels of oil per day and further extending the production plateau.
The two start-ups mark a further step forward in the phased and clustered development strategy that Eni has adopted for Block 15/06, and which has allowed the start-up of eight fields since November 2014, when production from West Hub started from the Sangos field.
Block 15/06 is developed by a Joint Venture formed by Eni (36.84%, Operator), Sonangol P&P (36.84%) and SSI Fifteen Limited (26.32%).
Also on Monday, Eni announced a new oil discovery in the Afoxé exploration prospect located in Block 15/06. The discovery is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million barrels of light oil in place.