Image: The Australian
Woodside, which operates Senegal’s SNE field, has announced the launch of front-end engineering design (FEED) activities on site.
The Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) joint venture brings together OneSubsea, Schlumberger and Subsea 7 together in a partnership called Subsea Integration Alliance.
The FEED work aims to finalize costs and technical frameworks to move forward with a final investment decision, which is expected to take place mid-2019.
“Senegal’s SNE oil is a key pillar of Horizon Two of our growth strategy,” Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said in a statement.
Woodside has outlined its growth strategy in three stages, or horizons, of which the second stage comprises a four-year plan between 2022 and 2026.
Commencing FEED activities follows approval by the Senegalese Minister of Petroleum and Energies of Woodside assuming the role of operator, and the RSSD joint venture’s submission of the SNE Field Development and Exploitation Plan to the government of Senegal.
The SNE development, which was discovered by Cairn Energy in 2014, is a stand-alone floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) facility with supporting subsea infrastructure. It will be designed to allow subsequent SNE development phases, including options for gas export to shore and for future subsea tiebacks from other reservoirs and fields.
Phase 1 of the development will target an estimated 230 MMbbl of oil resources (P50 gross) from the lower, less complex reservoirs and an initial phase in the upper reservoirs. The FPSO is expected to have a capacity of around 100,000 bbl/day, with first oil production targeted in 2022.
In parallel to the commencement of FEED activities, the RSSD joint venture continues to progress project financing and the environmental and social impact assessment.
