ExxonMobil Corp. affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Ltd. has let a contract to Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc., Houston, for well intervention services offshore southeastern Nigeria.
Under the contract, Helix will provide the Q4000, a DP3 riser-based semisubmersible well intervention vessel, a 10k Intervention Riser System (IRS), remotely operated vehicles, project management, and engineering services to cover fully integrated well intervention services from production enhancement to plug and abandonment.
The project, covering Erha and Usan fields, is expected to begin in September 2024 with the vessel expected to be in Nigeria into 2025. The fields lie about 97 km offshore of Nigeria in water depths of 700-1,500 m.
In August 2022, ExxonMobil renewed Nigerian deepwater oil mining leases (OML) 133 and 138, for the Erha and Usan blocks, for 20 years (OGJ Online, Aug. 16, 2022).
Esso began Erha development drilling in water depths up to 1,750 m in November 2003, having been awarded its initial PSC in 1993. It streamed first oil in first-half 2006 via a 165,000 b/d floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Usan is also produced via FPSO.