By an OGJ correspondent
NICOSIA, Jan. 6 -- ExxonMobil Corp. placed a $760 million order for construction of a second floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. of South Korea for Kizomba-B oil field off Angola.
Hyundai Heavy is scheduled to install the FPSO by June 2005 and to make its formal delivery to the Kizomba consortium a month later after conducting test-runs.
The FPSO consists of a hull designed to store 2.2 million bbl of oil, a topside with a production capacity of 250,000 b/d, refining facilities, and living quarters for 100 crew members. Hyundai officials said the FPSO will weigh in at 81,000 tons, and will measure 285 m long, 63 m wide, and 32 m high.
The Korean firm said it would be the second largest FPSO project in its history, after the $800 million contract awarded by ExxonMobil in August 2001 for development of Kizomba-A field. That earlier FPSO has the same dimensions and the same production and storage capacities.
The Kizomba project, considered West Africa's largest deepwater development, is370 km off Angola in water depths of 3,300-4,200 ft.
First oil from Kizomba-A is anticipated by the end of 2004, while production from Kizomba-B is not expected to begin before the end of 2005. A third phase of the field's development, Kizomba C, is expected to follow 12-18 months after Kizomba B.
The Kizomba consortium includes ExxonMobil's subsidiary, Esso Exploration Angola (operator with 40% interest), BP Exploration 26.67%, Agip Angola 20%, and Norway's Statoil 13.33%. Angola's state oil company Sonangol EP (Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola), is the concessionaire.
TLP-FPSO partners
In related Kizomba development activities, ABB Lummus Global Inc. is performing the detailed design of an extended tension leg platform (ETLP) for Kizomba-A field's surface wellhead platform (SWHP). The Kizomba SWHP is a new generation TLP on which the columns have been moved inboard (OGJ, Mar. 4, 2002, p. 83).
The ETLP will be installed in 3,863 ft of water on Block 15 and will be the first floating dry-tree unit to operate off West Africa. It will allow for dry-tree completions while the adjacent FPSO provides processing, utilities, and storage facilities.
Kizomba-A development will include tie-ins from Hungo, and Chocalho fields, and Kizomba-B development plans call for tie-ins from the Kissanje, Mirimba, Dikanza, and Xicomba discoveries.