Chevron’s South N’dola Platform in Angola delivered first oil in December. The milestone comes just over two years after construction on the platform began. The South N’dola Platform is in Block 0, the abundant offshore reservoir in Angola that is responsible for 12% of the country’s daily energy output.
Assembled in Cuanza Sul and Cabinda provinces, in Angola, the South N’dola project will develop hydrocarbon resources in Block 0 delivering oil to the Malongo Terminal and associated gas to Angola LNG, reinforcing the country’s energy infrastructure.
“This project exemplifies CABGOC’s commitment to develop local content and efficiently develop resources within the Block 0 concession,” said Frank Cassulo, managing director of Chevron’s Southern Africa. “During the construction phase, the project created more than 800 jobs for Angolan workers across Cabinda and Cuanza Sul and awarded several contracts to local business partners. The South N’dola Project upholds our 70-year legacy of business in Angola, by Angolans, for Angola.”
The project comprises several key components, which include a wellhead platform with the jacket weighing approximately 1,100 tones, standing about 73m tall, constructed in Porto Amboim, Cuanza Sul, and topsides weighing around 600 tons, fabricated in Malembo and assembled in Malongo, Cabindam, around 12 production wells, forecast to produce approximately 25,000 barrels of oil per day and 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Other components are a 15km long production pipeline, which goes from the wellhead platform to the Mafumeira complex facility, and a deck extension to the Mafumeira Production and Processing Platform that receives the production from South N’dola and channels it through the Mafumeira processing system.
The wellhead platform applied a minimum-facilities design that leverages existing available processing capacity in Mafumeira. It features a solar energy – battery system that powers the facility, a demonstration of CABGOC’s commitment to sustainable development.
Taking advantage of spare capacity in existing infrastructure enabled efficient and cost-effective development of the South N’dola field. The new platform uses a field-to-production-facility tieback. The tieback connects to the nearby Mafumeira facility, where the oil and gas the platform produces are processed and then pumped to the terminal for export. This approach helps eliminate the need for separate oil and gas processing equipment at South N’dola.
The South N’dola success marks a new chapter in Chevron’s long history in Angola. The company has been operating in Angola for more than 70 years. Today, the company operates two offshore tracts in Angola, Block 0 and deepwater Block 14, through a wholly owned subsidiary, Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. Ltd.
Through the company, Chevron continues to contribute to the Angolan economy. During its construction phase, South N’dola was expected to create more than 800 local jobs, and now that it is producing, it will deliver oil and gas to local Angolan plants.
