Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported the start of oil production from the first well at its Bonga North West deepwater development, drilled in 1,000 m of water offshore Nigeria. Operated by Shell subsidiary Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co. Ltd. (SNEPCo), the development is expected at peak production to contribute 40,000 boe/d to the Bonga development.
The $3.6 billion Bonga development project, which began producing oil and gas in late 2005, was Nigeria’s first deepwater development in water deeper than 1,000 m (OGJ Online, Dec. 1, 2005). The 60-sq-km Bonga field lies on OPL 212.
Oil from Bonga North West is transported by a subsea pipeline to an existing Bonga floating production, storage, and offloading vessel that has been upgraded to handle the additional flow. Shell expects four oil-producing wells and two water-injection wells to be connected to the FPSO, from which oil will be loaded on tankers.
SNEPCo holds a 55% stake in the Bonga project. Partners include Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Ltd., Total E&P Nigeria Ltd., and Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd. under a production-sharing contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.
