Akpo West, which is located 135km off the coast, is producing via a tieback to the existing Akpo FPSO facility
TotalEnergies brings the Akpo West field on stream. (Credit: Zachary Theodore on Unsplash)
TotalEnergies and its partners in Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 2 license (formerly OML 130) in Nigeria have commenced production from the Akpo West field in the Gulf of Guinea.
Akpo West, which is located 135km off the coast, is producing through a tieback to the existing Akpo floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility at the Akpo condensate field. Operating since 2009, the FPSO had drawn 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2023.
By the middle of this year, the Akpo West field is poised to contribute an additional 14,000 barrels of condensate production daily. TotalEnergies and its partners plan to ramp it up to four million cubic metres of gas per day by 2028.
TotalEnergies operates PML2 with a 24% stake. Its partners include CNOOC (45%), Sapetro (15%), Prime 130 (16%), and Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which serves as the concessionaire of the production sharing contract (PSC).
According to TotalEnergies, the Akpo West field utilises the current Akpo infrastructure to reduce expenses and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Its carbon intensity is projected to be less than 5kg CO2e/boe, which is expected to aid in the reduction of TotalEnergies’s portfolio’s average carbon intensity.
TotalEnergies Africa exploration and production senior vice president Mike Sangster said: “After Ikike in 2022, TotalEnergies is pleased to start production of another tie-back project in Nigeria, Akpo West, which will contribute to maintaining the production of the existing Akpo facilities by developing additional nearby resources.
“This project fits the Company’s strategy of developing low-cost and low-emission projects.
“This project leverages TotalEnergies’ solid footprint in Nigeria and will quickly bring value to the country, TotalEnergies and its partners.”
Last May, the French oil and gas firm secured a 20-year renewal of the PML2 license. Apart from the Akpo gas and condensate field, which was discovered in 2000, the offshore block contains the Egina field.
The Egina oil field has been producing since December 2018.