Fresh project start-up for Eni in Angola’s deep offshore

Italian oil and gas company Eni has started production from the Ndungu Early Production (EP) development project, located in Block 15/06 of the Angolan deep offshore. This is Eni’s third project start-up in Angola in seven months and the second project start-up in a matter of two days.

The Ndungu oil discovery was made in May 2019, using the Poseidon drillship. The project is now producing via the N’goma floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, Eni reported on Friday.

Eni believes that the start-up of Ndungu EP is yet another example of how the company – in cooperation with Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis (ANPG) and partners – keeps creating value on Block 15/06 through its Infrastructure-Led Exploration strategy, generating a pipeline of fast-track subsea tie-backs, thus maximizing the utilization of existing facilities in the area.

Ndungu Early Production project, with an expected production rate in the range of 20,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), will sustain the plateau of the N’goma, a 100 kbopd zero-discharge and zero-process flaring FPSO, upgraded in 2021 to minimize emissions, in line with Eni’s decarbonisation strategy to achieve net-zero.

According to the Italian company, a further exploration and delineation campaign will be performed in the first half of 2022 with the aim to assess the full potential of the overall asset of Ndungu.

Ndungu EP is the third start-up achieved by Eni Angola in Block 15/06 in the last seven months, after Cuica Early Production in August 2021 and Cabaca North Development Project in September 2021. Block 15/06 is operated by Eni Angola with a 36.84 per cent share. Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (36.84 per cent) and SSI Fifteen Limited (26.32 per cent) compose the rest of the Joint Venture.

Further to Block 15/06, Eni is the operator of exploration Blocks Cabinda North, Cabinda Centro, 1/14 and 28, as well as of the New Gas Consortium (NGC). In addition, Eni has stakes in the non-operated Blocks 0 (Cabinda), 3/05, 3/05A, 14, 14 K/A-IMI, 15 and in the Angola LNG.

It is also worth mentioning that this is Eni’s second project to begin production in only two days, with the first one being located in waters offshore Mexico and produced via the Miamte FPSO.