TechnipFMC helping Ghana bring Sankofa gas online

TechnipFMC, a recently established oilfield services giant, is taking part in development of Ghana’s giant offshore oil and gas project- the Sankofa. However, the company is not dipping its toes in the ocean here, as the work for TechnipFMC will be based onshore.

Namely, the company with three headquarters – Paris, Houston, and London – after the merger with FMC Technologies,  has this week secured a contract by ENI Ghana E&P Limited for the onshore part of the Offshore Cape Three Points development of the Sankofa field, offshore Ghana.

Under this contract, TechnipFMC will perform the project management, engineering, supply, construction and commissioning (EPC) for the Onshore Receiving Facilities (ORF) located in Sanzule, which form part of the Gas to Power Plan.

The contract will be mainly executed by the teams of TechnipFMC in Ghana. The project is scheduled for completion by mid-2018. TechnipFMC did not reveal the financial details of the deal.

Nello Uccelletti, President of TechnipFMC’s Onshore/Offshore business, commented: “We are proud to have been awarded this new contract, which rewards TechnipFMC’s long term commitment in Africa and plays a strategic role in the Gas to Power program in Ghana. This success also results from TechnipFMC’s sustainable development work in Ghana, in particular our permanent Engineering Center located in Accra.”

The $7.7 billion Sankofa offshore project is expected to be transformational for Ghana. According to a recent report by the World Bank, once the Sankofa field starts to produce gas Ghana would be able to reduce its oil imports by up to 12 million barrels a year and cut carbon emissions by 1.6 million metric tons of CO2 annually.

The OCTP block comprises five fields: Sankofa Main (non associated gas), Sankofa East (non associated gas), Gye Nyame (non associated gas), Sankofa East Cenomanian (oil), Sankofa East Campanian (oil).

The project is in water depth of 600 – 1000 m. The oil from Sankofa will be produced via subsea production systems located on the seabed, sending the oil o surface by flowlines and risers connected to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Oil will then be offloaded to tankers and sold to the international market.

Gas will be processed and transported via a dedicated pipeline to onshore gas receiving facilities located near the village of Sanzule on the coast in the Western Region of Ghana.

Vitol, a partner in the project has said that Sankofa will provide enough gas to fuel most of the thermal power sector in Ghana to 2036, as well as an estimated 500 million barrels of oil-in-place. 2 First oil is expected in the summer of 2017 and first gas in the first half of 2018.

Offshore Energy Today Staff