Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (EEPNL), a unit of Exxon Mobil, has started oil production at the Erha North Phase 2 project offshore Nigeria, five months ahead of schedule and $400m under budget.
The Erha North Phase 2 project is a deepwater subsea development is located four miles north of the Erha field, which started production since 2006.
Developed with an investment of $3.5bn, the two fields are located approximately 97km offshore Nigeria, in water depths ranging from 1,000m to 1,200m and in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 133.
The Erha North Phase II development project involve the further development of Erha North field through drilling seven wells from three drill centers tied back to the existing Erha North floating production, storage and offloading vessel.
EEPNL operates the OML 133 contract area with 56.25% interest while Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production (SNEPCO) owns the remaining stake.
Aker Solutions delivered subsea umbilicals for the Erha North phase 2 project.
Expected to add additional 165 million barrels from the Erha North field, the Erha North Phase II project is estimated to have production capacity of 65,000 barrels of oil per day.
ExxonMobil Development Company president Neil Duffin said: "Executing successful projects such as Erha North Phase 2 ahead of schedule and under budget results from ExxonMobil’s disciplined project management approach and expertise.
"We are able to create additional shareholder value by optimizing existing infrastructure, which reduces capital spending requirements and improves capital efficiency."
According to estimates, the two fields hold combined recoverable oil reserves of approximately 500 million barrels.
ExxonMobil is planning to boost its production volumes this year by 2% to 4.1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day globally this year.
Image: Aker supplied umbilicals for Erha North Phase 2 project. Photo: courtesy of Aker Solutions.