Even as the current world economic recession continues to bite, African economies that are largely dependent on oil production appear to be bearing the brunt of the economic downturn. However, experts at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) held in Houston, Texas on May 4 – 7, 2009, predicted that the $60 barrel oil prices would rise to over $70 before the end of September 2009.
In anticipation for this inevitable increase, some African oil producers have continued to develop their fields. One such development is the deepwater Gimboa field in Angola. Speaking at the conference, H. J. Wime of the state oil company, Sonangol, said that the Gimboa field was completed in April 2009 after the construction contract was awarded in June 2006. Known as Gimboa Angola Block 4, this field is a marginal oil field located 85 km from the Angolan coast and sinks to a depth of 700m.
Wime explained that the Gimboa Field was discovered in 2004 and has the potential of producing 50 million barrels of crude. It is linked to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit with a capacity of pumping 1.8 million barrels of crude.
"The important aspect for Sonangol is that Gimboa is the first deep water oil production facility fully operated by the Angolan state oil corporation," explains Wime. HeHH To emphasize the importance that the Angolan government attaches to this project, the geologist said that Sonangol had maximized the use of local labor, material and expertise in setting up the project.
The 400-million-dollar project uses the Christmas tree tie-back where the various oil wells on the sea-bed are linked to only one main FPSO, thus eliminating the need for multiple FPSOs. This linkage of the various oil wells to one central FPSO resembles a Christmas tree giving such production facilities this name. The Gimboa field came to fruition through collaboration with various manufacturing and fabrication firms in the UK, Norway, Italy, Malaysia, India and Angola. However, the Gimboa FPSO, which has a 15-year life expectancy, went through major challenges before its completion.
Some of the challenges in the construction of the FPSO include the lack of professional and technical personnel that Sonangol could utilize and the fact that the equipment took long to deliver because it came from diverse places around the world. This logistical challenge in the fabrication of the equipment led to the slow down in completion of the project.
However, because of the relatively modern techniques used in the completion of the project, the Gimboa FPSO incorporates web-interface systems that make it easier for monitoring and controlling of the system, Wime pointed out to participants at the conference.
Another African deep water oil production facility, the Agbami, situated offshore Nigeria, has also seen an increase in the number of wells drilled. Addressing the conference, Chris Aigbe said that already 20 wells had been drilled with an estimated reserve of 225 million barrels of crude. He said that although the Agbami is being done in phases, Phase One will be completed by the end of the year.
The strong presence of the African contingent at the OTC underlined the importance oil continues to play in these economies. The relative decline in world oil demand does not dampen the future certainty of an increase in oil prices.
