The new Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, John Agyekum Kufuor, has arrived in Ghana. It is currently being moored on top of wells at the Tano Basin Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP).
The arrival of the FPSO is the final stage in the development of Ghana’s third oilfield. Italian oil major ENI is the lead operator of the field with a 44.44% interest. Other partners are Vitol (35.56%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC, 20%).
Ghana’s energy sector is expected to receive a boost from the new FPSO. It is expected to produce around one million standard cubic feet of natural gas which will mostly be used to generate much-needed electricity. Oil production will also increase, Ghana is expected to produce over 240,000 barrels per day when all three oilfields hit their production targets.
FPSO named after former president
At present, the Jubilee field produces about 100,000 barrels which is expected to rise to 120,000 barrels. The TEN fields where some wells are not yet active are already producing around 56,000 barrels, expected to rise to 80,000 barrels per day. The ENI-operated Sankofa Gye Nyame block in the OCTP, where first oil is expected two months ahead of schedule in June, will produce around 45,000 barrels per day at its peak.
The FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor, built in Singapore by Keppel Shipyards, was named after a former Ghanaian president under whose tenure oil was discovered in commercial quantities in 2007. It has a storage capacity of 1.7 million barrels, a double hull to reduce environmental risks and a treatment capacity of 58,000 oil barrels per day.
Community engagement
Prior to the arrival of the FPSO in Ghanaian waters, the government regulator for the upstream petroleum industry engaged stakeholders in the six coastal fishing communities of the Western Region. The team pledged that all necessary safety rules would be applied as the vessel was moored for the final hook-ups for first oil in June 2017.
