Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCo - Shell’s deep water subsidiary based in Nigeria – has reported the start of oil production from a well at the Bonga North West deep water development, off the coast of Nigeria. This first oil achieved is a significant step forward for the Bonga development which commenced in 2005 as part of a $3.6 billion project. Production is now expected to contribute 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to the Bonga development.
The Bonga deep water field also supplies gas to the Nigeria Liquefield Natural Gas Company (NLNG) which is then exported as LNG to various markets globally.
Oil from the facility is transported to the existing Bonga Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) export facility using a new undersea pipeline. Four production wells and two water injection wells will be connected to the FPSO from which oil will be loaded onto tankers.
Andrew Brown, Upstream International Director at Shell, said: “This is an excellent addition to our deep water portfolio – a key growth theme for Shell’s worldwide upstream business. It’s also good news for Nigeria as it is a new source of oil revenues and strengthens Nigeria’s deep-water expertise, a key driver of economic development.”
The Bonga project is operated by SNEPCo which holds 55% interest. Other partner in the venture include Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited (20%), Total E&P Nigeria Limited (12.5%) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (12.5%).
