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REPUBLIC OF CONGO
ITALIAN oil major Eni SpA has secured a small-scale floating LNG (FLNG) vessel for installation at the Marine XII block offshore Republic of Congo.
In a statement dated August 5, Eni reported that it had acquired Export LNG Ltd, the owner of the Tango FLNG unit, from Belgium’s Exmar. The company didn’t comment on the terms of the transaction, but said in a statement that access to the vessel, which is capable of lique- fying 600,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of natural gas, would allow it to accelerate the start of LNG production at Marine XII.
“The acquisition of this facility allows the development of a fast-track model capable of seizing the opportunities of the LNG market,” it commented. “In addition, the high flexibility and mobility characteristics of the Tango FLNG will favour the development and enhancement of Eni’s equity gas by accelerating production start-up time.”
Exmar confirmed the agreement, saying in a separate statement that it had struck a deal with Eni on the sale of the Tango FLNG unit. The Belgian company put the value of the sale
at $572mn-$694mn, explaining that the exact price would depend on Tango FLNG’s perfor- mance during the first six months on site.
It also said it had agreed to make the vessel available to the Italian major when the parties closed the transaction, noting that this was expected to happen in the second half of this month. However, it was not immediately clear when Tango FLNG might arrive at Marine XII. According to ship tracking data posted on Mari- neTraffic.com, the vessel is currently anchored near Nueva Palmira, Uruguay, not far from Bue- nos Aires.
Eni, for its part, indicated that it expected the vessel to arrive in ROC’s offshore zone next year. It said Tango FLNG would begin operating “in the second half of 2023, following the com- pletion of mooring and connection works nec- essary to tie with the Marine XII network and infrastructure,” with LNG production starting sometime before the end of the same year.
Meanwhile, Exmar said in its statement that it was discussing arrangements with the Italian major that went beyond the sale of the FLNG unit.
Dussafu is an 850-square km licence area located within the Ruche Exclusive Exploitation Area (Ruche EEA), another block offshore Gabon, in waters that average 116 metres in depth. It is home to six oil discovered oilfields and multiple leads and prospects.
BW Energy has already begun Phase 1 and 2 production at Dussafu. During Phase 1, it drilled two horizontal wells at Tortue, one of the six fields within the block, using gas lift to serve as an artificial lift mechanism.
Then in Phase 2, it drilled another four wells at Tortue.
The company’s next drilling targets at Dus- safu are Hibiscus and Ruche, another two of the six wells discovered at the block. It aims to drill four wells at Hibiscus and two at Ruche, and all six of these will target the Gamba horizon.
Last year, BW Energy extracted some 11,300 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Dussafu, with 100% of production coming from the Gamba horizon of the Tortue field.™
Eni buys Exmar’s Tango FLNG unit for Marine XII LNG project
The Tango FLNG vessel is currently anchored near Nueva Palmira, Uruguay (Photo: Exmar)
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