The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Petrojarl Kong and floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO) Yamoussoukro have entered their final stages of upgrading and conversion prior to their mobilization to Côte d’Ivoire for Eni’s Baleine Phase 2 project.
The naming ceremony for the units was held in Dubai, with Eni, Petroci, Drydocks World, and Altera Infrastructure present to mark the milestone in the development of the project.
With the christening of the vessels, phase 2 of the Baleine project is now in full swing, in line with the record timing of phase 1.
After just 12 months on site in a challenging market environment, the refurbished units are preparing to set sail for the Ivory Coast, where they will be anchored about 50 km from the coast, alongside the FPSO Baleine that entered operation in August 2023.
With the startup of phase 2, scheduled for December 2024, total production from the Baleine field will rise to 60,000 barrels of oil per day and 70 million cubic feet of associated gas (equivalent to 2 million cubic meters of associated gas), significantly increasing current production.
In addition, through the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and industry-leading initiatives designed in collaboration with institutions and already underway, it will be the first net zero-emission upstream (Scope 1 and 2) development on the African continent.
Eni has been operating in Côte d'Ivoire since 2015 where it has an equity production of about 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and participates in six blocks in Ivorian deepwater: CI-101, CI-205, CI-401, CI-501, CI-801 and CI- 802, all with the same partner Petroci Holding.
The company is active in the country with initiatives ranging from hydrocarbon production to vegetable oil production for biorefining,
The FPSO Petrojarl Kong previously operated under the name Voyageur Spirit on the Huntington field in the North Sea until 2020. The FSO Yamoussoukro, converted from the Altera shuttle tanker Nordic Brasilia, will provide additional storage capacity and oil export facilities at the field.
Altera Infrastructure owns and will operate both vessels, which are set for deployment on the Baleine field with a 15-year firm contract.
“The FPSO and the FSO are being completed approximately 14 months after arriving at the yard – and the Altera FPSO and FSO Projects combined have so far involved more than 8 million manhours without lost time injuries and over 10 million on the entire project. To deliver successfully on such a fast-track project, our partnership and collaboration with Drydocks World, Eni, and Petroci Holding has been an absolute key,” said Arne H. Tørnkvist, Executive Vice President, Projects at Altera Infrastructure.