Vandumbu field started producing oil on deepwater Block 15/06 offshore Angola in November, 3 months ahead of schedule, reported operator Eni SPA.
Production at Vandumbu field, along with the start-up of a subsea multiphase boosting system (SMBS) in early December, is boosting the oil production from Block 15/06—about 350 km North West of Luanda and 130 km West of Soyo—by 20,000 b/d via West Hub’s N’Goma floating production, storage, and offloading vessel, the company said. Ramp-up of Vandumbu will be completed in first-quarter 2019, to achieve total production of about 170,000 b/d of oil and further extending the production plateau.
The start-ups move forward the phased and clustered development strategy for Block 15/06, which has seen the start-up of eight fields since November 2014, when production from West Hub started from Sangos field (OGJ Online, Dec. 8, 2014; March 19, 2018).
Eni, operator, and Sonangol P&P hold 36.84% interest each in Block 15/06. SSI Fifteen Ltd. holds 26.32%.