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Eni and Vitol eye integrated project’s output increase offshore Ghana

By Dragana Nikše

Copyright offshore-energy

Eni and Vitol eye integrated project’s output increase offshore Ghana

Italy’s energy giant Eni and its partners in an oil and gas project offshore Ghana, Vitol and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), have signed a memorandum of intent (MOI) with Ghana’s government to boost the country’s oil and gas production capacity and support sustainable initiatives.

Under the MOI inked with Ghana’s Minister of Energy and Green Transition and the Minister of Finance, the partners intend to help Ghana meet its growing domestic energy needs, among other things, by increasing the gas production at the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) project.

As disclosed by Eni, the agreement will assess a comprehensive and integrated investment plan, aimed at contributing to national goals for reliable, affordable, and low-impact access to energy. The evaluation of new exploration and appraisal opportunities is also planned.

The possible increase in OCTP project production capacity is envisaged to encompass offshore and onshore upgrades. This includes the development of the Eban-Akoma field in Block 4. Since the Eban-1X (oil) and the Akoma-1X (gas and condensate) wells were officially assessed as commercially viable in July, the partners believe they have the potential to become a new source of supply, leveraging existing infrastructure.

OCTP is an integrated project for the development of oil and natural fields located off the west coast of Ghana. The natural gas that is produced here is entirely destined to meet the demands of Sub-Saharan Africa. The field’s Sankofa and Gye Nyame facilities are developed with wells and systems on the seabed, connected to Yinson Production’s floating production and storage unit (FPSO) John Agyekum Kufuor.

Oil and gas at OCTP were discovered in 2012, with oil production from the fields starting in 2017, and gas production following suit a year later. Since then, over 107 million barrels of oil and 480 billion standard cubic feet (Bscf) of gas have been produced.

Eni operates the OCTP project with a 44.4% stake, in partnership with Vitol (35.6%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (20%). The volumes from the project have reportedly helped meet approximately 70% of Ghana’s gas demand for power generation.

Furthermore, the Italian company and its partners claim to have invested over $10 million in social programs directly benefiting more than 10,000 people in the areas of education, access to clean water, health and hygiene, and support for the local economy. A second phase will introduce new initiatives in this regard.

In mid-July, Yinson disclosed having integrated the associated gas system into the non-associated gas infrastructure at the OCTP project. The company claims that this development has notably increased the capacity for gas exports to Ghana’s national grid.

Eni is also actively involved in projects elsewhere in Africa. One of the notable ones is Congo LNG, which is Congo’s first LNG project. Already featuring one floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit, Tango, the project will soon welcome another FLNG unit, Nguya.

The unit will be towed from China by Singapore’s PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH) thanks to a deal with it secured with Wison New Energies.