28th Nov 2005 12:47
Total S.A.28 November 2005 Nigeria : Offshore Bonga field starts up Paris, November 28, 2005 - Total announces the start of crude oil productionfrom the Bonga deepwater oil and gas field, 120 kilometres offshore Nigeria. TheBonga field will produce over 200,000 barrels of oil and over 150 million cubicfeet of gas per day once it reaches plateau level. Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total, holds a 12.5%stake along side Partners Shell Nigeria E&P Corporation (the operator of thefield on behalf of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation under a ProductionSharing Contract), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and NigerianAgip Exploration (Limited). Located in Oil Prospecting Licence 212, the 60 square kilometre field issituated in water depths of more than 1,000 metres. Production facilitiescomprise a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel togetherwith a deepwater subsea infrastructure. The field's initial 16 subsea oilproducing and water injection wells are connected to the two million barrelstorage capacity FPSO by production flowlines, risers and control umbilicals. Associated gas from Bonga will be piped via the 268 km 32 inch Offshore GasGathering System to the Nigerian liquefaction (NLNG) plant for export to US andEuropean markets. Moreover, significant hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered in the areaaround Bonga which have led to development studies on the Bonga South West andBonga North West projects. Africa is Total's leading growth region, accounting for production of 813,000barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2004. Present in Nigeria since 1962,Total's equity production was 271,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2004.The Group recently launched the development of the deep offshore Akpo fieldwhich will enter into production late 2008 at a plateau of 225,000 barrels ofoil equivalent per day. Total also holds a 15% partnership interest in the Bonnygas liquefaction plant. * * * * * Total is the fourth largest oil and gas company in the world with operations inmore than 130 countries. Total's activities cover the whole energy chain of thepetroleum industry: exploration, oil and gas production, refining and marketing,trading and power generation. The Group is also a major player in chemicals.Total has more than 111,000 employees worldwide. More information can be foundon the company's website: www.total.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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