Azule starts up Agogo FPSO, finds gas in Gajajeira prospect offshore Angola
Azule Energy, the joint venture between bp and Eni, has produced first oil from the Agogo FPSO offshore Angola.
The platform is part of the Agogo Integrated West Hub (IWH) in Block 15/06 which involves development of the Agogo and Ndungu fields, with combined reserves estimated at 450 MMbbl. At peak, these should produce 175,000 b/d.
Production duties are shared with the Ngoma FPSO, which has done service on the West Hub since 2015, after being converted by SBM Offshore from the FPSO Xikomba.
The Agogo IWH project went onstream 29 months after sanction in February 2023, with the partners adopting a phased approach that enabled development in parallel with the appraisal campaign to help de-risk the full-field development. This involved a co-operation between reservoir, engineering and procurement teams.
Yinson Production is operating the FPSO Agogo on behalf of the joint venture. The platform departed the Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry shipyard in China at the end of February, making a brief stop en route at Namibia for a crew change.
Azule describes it as a uniquely `green’ FPSO, with all topsides and marine systems designed to be fully electric. It also features combined cycle power generation and a pilot Carbon Capture and Utilisation/Storage (CCUS) system to recover associated CO2 volumes, making it the first FPSO offshore Angola from which operational carbon emissions are fully offset.
Finally, the project is providing the first oil from a new FPSO in Angola since ANPG was established as the new National Concessionaire in 2019, as well as being Azule Energy's first major development to go online since the joint venture was established in 2022.
Other partners are Sonangol E&P and Sinopec International.
Earlier this month, the Azule-led Block 1/14 partnership announced a gas discovery via the Gajajeira-01 exploration well in the offshore Lower Congo basin.
The well, spudded on April 1 in 95 m water depth, 60 km from the mainland, encountered gas- and condensate-bearing sandstones in the LO100 Lower Oligocene target.
Initial analysis of the results and fluid samples suggests various reservoirs with good mobility, with potential in-place gas of over 1 Tcf and up to 100 MMbbl of associated condensate.
These findings have confirmed the presence of a working hydrocarbon system and opened up further exploration opportunities in the area. Azule and its partners will continue to assess the find’s potential and will look to determine an optimal development strategy.
CEO Adriano Mongin pointed out that Gajajeira-01 is Angola’s first dedicated gas exploration well. Drilling continues, with the next target being the last Lower Oligocene interval LO300.
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