Shell Nigeria starts oil production from Bonga deepwater well

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) has commenced oil production from the first well at the Bonga North West deepwater development offshore Nigeria.

Deepwater portfolio

Commenting on the achievement, Andrew Brown, Shell’s Upstream International Director, said: “This is an excellent addition to our deepwater portfolio – a key growth theme for Shell’s world-wide upstream business. It’s also good news for Nigeria, as it is a new source of oil revenues and strengthens Nigeria’s deepwater expertise, a key driver of economic development.”

The Bonga project, which began producing oil and gas in 2005, was Nigeria’s first deepwater development in water depths over 1000 m. Bonga North West represents a significant step forward for the project.

Bonga FPSO

Oil from the Bonga North West sub-sea facilities is transported by a new undersea pipeline to the existing Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) export facility.

The Bonga FPSO has been upgraded to handle the additional oil flow from Bonga North West which, at peak production, is expected to contribute 40,000 boepd, helping to maintain the facility’s overall output.

Four oil producing wells and two water injection wells in the Bonga North West development will be connected to the FPSO, from where oil is loaded onto tankers for shipping around the world.

Developing skills

The Bonga North West project is part of Shell’s long-standing commitment to developing deepwater engineering skills in Nigeria. The investments made by SNEPCo and its other project partners in the Bonga North West project include upgrades of local contractors’ facilities and providing specialised training for Nigerians to work in the energy industry.

Image courtesy of Shell.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/07082014/first-oil-production-from-bonga-deepwater-well-offshore-nigeria-1224/