Triton's Ceiba Field FPSO Sendje Berge to sail in September
The Sendje Berge was converted from a VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. Triton chose an FPSO-based development concept for the Ceiba Field to provide early production and flexibility to cost effectively increase future production capacity.
Triton is leasing the Sendje Berge from Bergesen under a multi-year contract. Following completion of the conversion, expected in September, the Sendje Berge will sail for Equatorial Guinea, where it is scheduled to begin oil production by yearend.
James C. Musselman, Triton president and CEO, said "The availability of the vessel was one of the key reasons Triton could plan for oil production just 15 months after discovery of the field. Through the tremendous work of Triton, Bergesen, and the contractors performing the conversion and building production facilities, we will meet this extraordinary timetable for deepwater development."
The Sendje Berge is a 275,000 dwt (dead weight tons) turbine tanker. The vessel measures approximately 350 meters (1,150 ft) in length and 52 meters (170 ft) in width. The deck area is equivalent to nearly four football fields. The vessel's crude oil storage capacity is 2 million bbl.
ABB Offshore Systems fabricated the initial oil and gas processing facility of the Sendje Berge, which will provide onboard processing capacity of 60,000 b/d. The conversion provides for field addition of production modules up to a combined capacity of 240,000 b/d, should future field appraisal warrant, and, if needed, the addition of water and gas injection facilities.
The Cameron Division of Cooper Cameron Corp. is providing subsea systems and equipment in the Ceiba Field including wellheads, subsea production trees, pipeline end manifolds, and subsea and surface-installed production control systems for four wells. Cameron's SpoolTree subsea christmas tree system will be utilized for 5 1/2-inch tubing completions.
Stolt Offshore Services, S.A. is supplying and installing flowlines, risers, and control umbilicals (provided by Oceaneering Multiflex) to connect each of the first four production wells in the Ceiba Field to the FPSO vessel and a riser support structure. The scope includes approximately 60 km of eight-inch insulated steel flowlines, 2.8 km of flexible risers, and 30 km of control umbilicals. Equipment has been sized as a result of flow assurance work, full-field development considerations and to facilitate hookup of additional wells. Each well will have two flowlines for production and operational flexibility.
Ceiba Field
Recent activity in the Ceiba Field includes the completion of the Ceiba-4 well by the Sedco 700 semisubmersible, which will next complete the Ceiba-2 well, followed by the Ceiba-3 and Ceiba-1 wells. All of the wells will then be ready for hookup to the field's early production system.
The R. F. Bauer drillship is expected to begin drilling the Ceiba-6 well, a significant stepout, by the end of August. The well, which will be located approximately 2.5 miles south of the Ceiba-4 well, has been designed to delineate the southeastern extent of the main field and to test the potential of laminated sands and other secondary reservoirs. The well is expected to provide key geologic information, allowing refinement of the field model and drainage plan. The drillship currently is undertaking preliminary completion work on Ceiba-1. After drilling Ceiba-6, Triton plans to drill up to six exploration wells.
Triton announced its Ceiba Field discovery on October 6, 1999, following drilling and testing of the Ceiba-1 discovery well. Triton has drilled five successful wells in the field, most recently the Ceiba-5 appraisal well, which confirmed the primary oil pool found in the four previous wells and encountered a previously unseen deeper pool with an additional high-quality reservoir.
The Ceiba Field is in Block G off the continental coast of Equatorial Guinea. Triton has an 85% working interest in and is the operator of Block G and the adjacent Block F, which together encompass an area of approximately 1.3 million acres. The blocks are located in the Rio Muni Basin, 150 miles south of the country's capital, Malabo, and offshore the city of Bata. Triton's partner in the blocks is Energy Africa Ltd. of South Africa, which has the remaining 15% working interest.
Edited by Dev George
Managing Editor, Oil and Gas Online