ExxonMobil Achieves First Oil at Jade Platform

ExxonMobil Corp. announced today its new Jade Platform in the Zafiro Field has started production from its first well at a rate of more than 12,000 b/d. The platform is located approximately 35 miles offshore Equatorial Guinea.

The US$560 million Jade project pushes current production from the ExxonMobil-operated Zafiro Field to more than 112,000 b/d, and will eventually contribute some 60,000 b/d to field production when Jade reaches peak rates in 2002.

ExxonMobil estimates ultimate recoverable resources from the Zafiro Field at more than 400 million barrels of oil.

Currently there are 22 producing wells in the field. On the Jade platform, a total of 17 wells are planned for completion during the next 18 months. Located in 550 ft of water, the Jade facilities include a 40-slot conventional steel jacket platform with an integrated drilling rig. The rig is now being used to complete the new wells in the Zafiro Field, including development of satellite reservoirs in the eastern portion of the field through the use of extended-reach drilling. Production from the platform is being stored in the Zafiro FPSO/FSO complex and exported by tankers through a single-point mooring buoy.

The Jade platform was brought on-stream in just 36 months, a fast-track accomplishment that included some 14 months of design work, and approximately 22 months for construction. During the construction phase, the platform's topsides set a record for West Africa's heaviest lift at 8,500 tons.

An ExxonMobil subsidiary, Mobil Equatorial Guinea, Inc., is operator for the Zafiro Field and Jade platform with a 71% working interest. Other co-venturers include Ocean Energy and the Government of Equatorial Guinea.

"With the addition of production from the Jade Platform, ExxonMobil continues to strengthen its leadership position in West Africa," said Harry J. Longwell, ExxonMobil director and senior vice president. "We have an excellent base of existing production in Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria totaling more than 300,000 b/d (net). Added to our long list of world-class development opportunities offshore Angola and Nigeria as well as onshore in Chad, ExxonMobil is positioned for significant volume growth in Africa well into the future."

Edited by Dev George