BP Nears FID at Platina Field Offshore Angola

Angola’s Sonangol and British supermajor BP on Monday signed an agreement to progress to final investment decision (FID) for the development of the Platina field in the BP-operated deepwater Block 18, offshore Angola.

Platina would be BP’s first new operated development in Angola since the PSVM project in Block 31 began production in 2013. It would be the second phase of development in Block 18, following the BP-operated Greater Plutonio project, which began production in 2007.

The partners also agreed Monday to extend the production licence for the Greater Plutonio project to 2032, subject to government approval, and for Sonangol to take an 8 percent equity interest in the block.

“These agreements are a positive sign of the work being done by Sonangol and the Angolan government to generate more investment in our oil industry and take us a big step closer toward increasing production from Block 18,” said Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol Carlos Saturnino, who signed the agreements in Luanda along with BP group chief executive Bob Dudley.

“BP has been a key partner for Sonangol and Angola for many years, having contributed to the development of the oil and gas industry through its operated and partner-operated blocks, and we look forward to continuing to work together in the years to come,” Saturnino said.

Dudley said, “The signing of these agreements represents an important milestone in our relationship with Sonangol. It is a major step towards new investments for BP’s business in Angola, extending production from Greater Plutonio and boosting the nation’s oil output.”

BP Angola has interest in six offshore deep and ultra-deepwater blocks in Angola.

BP holds a 50 percent interest in Block 18, while Sonangol Sinopec International Limited (SSI) holds the other 50 percent.

Discovered in 1999, the Platina field, in water depth of approximately 1,300 meters, is planned to be developed as a subsea tie-back to the existing Greater Plutonio floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), which began production in 2007. The final investment decision for the development is anticipated in the second quarter of 2019 with first oil then expected in late 2021/early 2022. The production licence extension will enable later life production from the Greater Plutonio fields as well as the future output expected from Platina.

The Greater Plutonio development was the first BP-operated asset in Angola and consists of five distinct fields (Galio, Cromio, Cobalto, Paladio, and Plutonio) discovered between 1999 and 2001. Average production at Greater Plutonio for 2017 was 116,000 barrels of oil per day (gross).

BP and Sonangol also signed two further memoranda of understanding (MOUs) regarding potential further access and exploration offshore Angola and cooperation in a planned new products and crude terminal and storage facility in Angola.

Under one MOU the companies agreed to progress discussions for further exploration activities in Blocks 31 and 18, to enter discussions for Blocks 46 and 47, and to explore options in Block 18/15.

The second MOU enables them to enter discussions regarding financing and construction of the planned terminal and storage facility at Barra do Dande in Bengo province, approximately 30 kilometers north of Luanda.