France-headquartered energy giant TotalEnergies has started oil production from two subsea tie-back projects to existing floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels off the coast of Angola.
With the start-up of the Begonia and CLOV Phase 3 offshore projects, TotalEnergies is adding 60,000 barrels per day of oil production offshore Angola. The CLOV deepwater oil fields development project covers four fields: Cravo, Lirio, Orquidea, and Violeta.
These low-cost, low-emission subsea tie-back projects leverage existing ullage in the FPSO Pazflor and the FPSO CLOV to deliver additional production, making use of available capacity on existing units, which is perceived to enable them to have low marginal costs and low carbon intensities.
The firm’s first development on Block 17/06, Begonia, is located 150 kilometers off the Angolan coast. This is a 30,000-barrels-per-day project, consisting of five wells tied back to the FPSO Pazflor.
TotalEnergies (30%, operator) developed this project in cooperation with the Angolan concession holder, Agencia Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis (ANPG); the Block 17/06 partners: Sonangol E&P (30%), SSI (27,5%), ETU Energias (7.5%), Falcon Oil (5%); and the partners of Block 17, also operated by the French player.
Paulino Jerónimo , Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels, noted: “Good news for the country, as those two first oils will help Angola maintain its production levels above 1 million barrels per day.
“Begonia is the first project between Blocks in Angola with a significant component of local content and CLOV 3 is a great achievement resulting from intense work between the concessionaire and the B17 contractor group, operated by TotalEnergies. Projects like these are extremely important as they prove the innovative spirit and dynamism of the oil sector in Angola.”
The French company sees the CLOV Phase 3 project as a way to ensure continued upside on Block 17, situated 140 kilometers from the Angolan coast. This is a 30,000-barrels-per-day, four-well subsea tie-back to the FPSO CLOV.
TotalEnergies (38%, operator) brought this project online in agreement with ANPG and its partners Equinor (22,16%), ExxonMobil (19%), Azule Energy (15.84%), and Sonangol E&P (5%). The operator recently obtained the extension for this block.
Nicolas Terraz , President Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, commented: “TotalEnergies, operator of Block 17 and 17/06, continues to actively deliver its low-cost and low-emissions developments to grow its upstream production by more than 3% in 2025.
“With Begonia and CLOV Phase 3, we are leveraging available production capacity in existing FPSOs of Block 17 (Pazflor and CLOV) while reducing costs and emissions.”