Installation of a deep water Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) buoy on Floating Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) Kwame Nkrumah as the final phase of repair work in the first half of 2018 is expected to restore full offloading functionality.
This will remove the need for the DP shuttle and storage tankers, which has increased associated operating costs.
Market inquiries are currently ongoing to estimate the cost and schedule for the fabrication and installation of this buoy.
This was contained in Kosmos Energy Limited’s second quarter financial and operating results.
It said Kosmos and its partners have established that the preferred long-term solution is to convert the FPSO to a permanently spread moored facility, with offtake through a new deep- water CALM buoy.
It noted that the first phase of this work would involve the installation of a stern anchoring system to replace the three heading control tugs currently in the field, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2016.
According to the statement, the partners then plan a second phase of work to remove the load of the turret and risers from the bearing to allow the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah to be rotated to its optimal spread moor heading in the first half of 2017.
These first two phases of work are expected to cost up to $I50 million gross, and it is estimated that the Jubilee FPSO would need to be shut down for 8-12 weeks during the first half of 2017.
The statement said upon completion of the spread mooring work programme, production is expected to return to the levels achieved before the turret bearing issue occurred.
During the second quarter, gross sales volumes from the Jubilee field averaged approximately 45,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
Production during the quarter was impacted by downtime associated with the turret bearing issue identified on the Jubilee FPSO in February 2016.
This issue required the implementation of new operating procedures, including the use of tug boats for heading control and a dynamically positioned (DP) shuttle tanker and a storage vessel for offloading.
These new operating procedures necessitated the FPSO being shut down for an extended period in April, with production resuming in early May.
Once the new operating procedures were in place, field production gradually increased, and in June, it averaged around 90,000 bopd gross.
These procedures are continuing to work effectively, and for the second half of 2016, production is anticipated to average approximately 85,000 bopd.
The partners will continue to review potential opportunities to improve the efficiency of offtake procedures.
Kosmos anticipates that the financial impact of lower Jubilee production, as well as the additional expenditure associated with-the damage to the turret bearing will be mitigated through a combination of the comprehensive Hull and Machinery insurance, procured on behalf of the partnership, and the Loss of Production Income (LOPI) insurance obtained by Kosmos.
Recently, the providers of our LOPI insurance have agreed on a framework to reimburse Kosmos for lost production.
The framework provides for LOPI insurers to reimburse Kosmos for lost production on a monthly basis, minimising the impact from reduced near-term production.
The first claim is expected to be filed in August, with payment anticipated to be received in late September.
The TEN project remains on schedule and on budget, with the project now 99% complete and expected to deliver first oil shortly, consistent with the operator’s guidance.
Eight of the 11 previously drilled wells have now been completed. Hook-up and commissioning of the FPSO, connecting the pre-drilled wells to the vessel via the subsea infrastructure, is nearing completion.
A gradual ramp up in oil production towards the FPSO capacity of 80,000 bopd is anticipated around the end of 2016 as the facilities complete performance testing and well production levels are increased to optimal rates.
Per operator guidance, average annualised production from TEN in 2016 is expected to be approximately 23,000 bopd gross during the year, which equates to an average of approximately 55,000 bopd while it is online in 2016.
Associated gas production at TEN is expected to be re-injected into the Ntomme reservoir gas cap until gas export begins.
Gas export was planned to commence 12 months after field start up, with the Tweneboa gas reservoir coming on stream a further 12 months later. However, plans to accelerate gas export are currently under evaluation as the fabrication of the gas export facilities has been completed early and can be installed by year end, allowing connection to the existing gas infrastructure early in 2017.
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