President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on July 6 turned the valves on Ghana’s third Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor at 11.38am, to signify the start of formal commercial production on the Sankofa-Gye Nyame oil and gas field.

SRI EMAS Limited (SEL), was responsible for the complete subsea architecture installation including Structures, Flowlines, Umbilical, and Risers.

The installed hardware are the conduits through which the oil extracted from below the seabed, is moved to the floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) - John Agyekum Kuffuor.

A 63-kilometer submarine pipeline will transport gas to Sanzule's Onshore Receiving Facilities (ORF), where raw gas will be processed and transported to Ghana’s national distribution pipelines, supplying approximately 180 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).

SRI EMAS is an Independent Ghanaian company that delivers integrated offshore solutions in Ghana and the sub-region.

These include SURF installation, Light Well Intervention Works, Floater and Mooring Installation, Pipe Lay and Heavy Lift, accommodation and marine support, coupled with a track record of offshore engineering solutions for the entire oil-field cycle.

The company is equipped with highly skilled Ghanaian personnel including marine and subsea engineers.

Miss Carla Olympio, the Legal Counsel at SRI EMAS asserted that their level of delivery was evidenced in the fact that their client – ENI Ghana Ltd, has been able to start production 3 months earlier than expected.

In a statement from ENI’s press office, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi stated that starting production only two and a half years after the approval of the Development Plan is an extraordinary result.

“It certifies our exploration skills and knowledge, as well as our field development vision, and it confirms the effectiveness of ENI’s new operational model, where they have a central role in project management, aimed at improving time-to-market,” he said.

The OCTP integrated oil & gas development is made up of the Sankofa Main, Sankofa East and Gye-Nyame fields, which are located about 60 kilometers off Ghana’s Western Region coast. 

ENI’s statement further explained that the fields have about 770 million barrel of oil equivalent (mboe) in place, of which 500 million barrels are oil and 270 mboe are non-associated gas (about 40 billion cubic meters).

“Thanks to the laudable efforts of the Petroleum Commission in enforcing the Local Content Law, SRI EMAS has been able to play a critical role, in ENI’s production of First Oil,” said SRI EMAS Local Content Manager, Miss Lydia Alomatu. 

The project includes the development of gas fields whose production will be utilized entirely by Ghana’s domestic market. Production will be carried out via the “John Agyekum Kufuor” floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO), which will produce up to 85,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) through 18 underwater wells.

Eni is the Operator of the OCTP block with a 44.44% stake, while Vitol holds 35.56% and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) 20%.

SRI EMAS is optimistic that with such continued emphasis on local content and their commitment to a high-level standard of delivery, the OCTP project will provide numerous jobs as well as opportunities for Ghanaians to raise their level of expertise, in the oil and gas industry.