Jubilee partners confirm approval of Ghana’s second oil project
Kosmos Energy and Tullow say the Ghana government has approved the Plan of Development (PoD) for the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) oil project.
Both explorers confirmed the approval in separate statements today May 30, 2013.
According to Kosmos, approval of the PoD paves the way for partners like Tullow, Anadarko, PetroSA, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to proceed with the development of the discoveries.
It added that associated major contracts are expected to be finalized and subsequently awarded.
Tullow’s Chief Executive Officer, Aidan Heavey, said “I am delighted that the TEN Project Development Plan has been approved by the Government of Ghana. This is an important project that will give Ghana its second major offshore development.”
The TEN project is located in the Deepwater Tano Block, 60 kilometers (37 miles) offshore Ghana and approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the Jubilee Field.
The project is expected to deliver first oil in 2016, with a plateau production rate of 80,000 barrels of oil per day.
Future development of gas resources at TEN is anticipated following the commencement of oil startup, operators say.
The development of TEN will include the drilling and completion of up to 24 development wells, with half of the wells designed as producers and the remainder for water and gas injection to support ultimate field recoveries.
The wells, according to Tullow, will be connected through subsea infrastructure to a Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading vessel (FPSO), moored in approximately 1,500 meters (4,920 feet) of water.
Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic newspaper reported Tuesday May 28, 2013 that the government of Ghana government and the Jubilee partners disagree over the implementation of the TEN oil project.
According to the newspaper, while the government requests the Jubilee partners to drill the Ntumme well for it to fully assess the commercial viability and risk of the project before approving the plan for development (POD), the partners insist that there is enough economic value for the project, for which reason the POD should be endorsed.
The Jubilee partners are said to have invested $1 billion in the project so far and require to sink an additional $6 billion after approval of the POD, it said.
Citing senior officials at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the newspaper said the government was making such a demand because it wanted to protect the national interest and avoid the mistakes associated with phase one of the Jubilee project.
By Ekow Quandzie