AKPO Project Start-Up and Operation

ABSTRACT Akpo field is located in block OML 130, 200 km offshore Nigeria in 1400 m water depth. At plateau production, Akpo produces 175,000 bbls/day of condensate and exports 320 mmscfd of gas to Bonny NLNG plant. It is the first Deep Offshore development for TOTAL in Nigeria, soon to be followed by Usan (currently in Construction phase) and Egina (currently in Basic Engineering phase). Akpo reservoirs contain 620 million barrels recoverable reserves of a critical fluid made of very light oil up to 53° API and classified as condensate, with wellhead shut-in pressures up to 400 bars, wellhead temperatures up to 116 °C and very high GLR (Gas Liquid Ratio). AKPO is not only a giant condensate field, but also a gas field with 1Tcf planned gas export. The Akpo Operations team has contributed to all the field development phases, from Pre-Project, Basic Engineering, Project execution (sanctioned on 25th April, 2005) to the Start-Up and Operation in a truly integrated manner with the Reservoir, Drilling and all the Project package teams. Akpo achieved first production on 4th March, 2009, ahead of schedule, and completed the ramp-up of all the subsea and topsides facilities within only 3.5 months from the initial start-up date. This paper presents the strategy and organization put in place by Akpo Operations to meet in a timely manner the challenges encountered for the preparation and actual start-up / ramp-up of the field, together with the actual operational performance achieved. It addresses in particular the key aspects of:The Operations organization and its evolution to adapt to the various Project locations during all phases and to match the progress pace in order to ensure full readiness for the production start-up target dateThe Operations technical preparation activities, focusing on project engineering input and validation, together with dedicated operations engineering deliverablesThe human resources mobilization and the associated training effort for the Nigerian operatorsThe management of the Site Operations during the offshore installation and hook-up / commissioning phases in Nigeria and the performance achieved in terms of coordination efficiencyThe actual production Start-Up and Ramp-Up performance and the associated lessons learned. AKPO DEVELOPMENT TOTAL is the Operator on OML 130 with a 24% interest. The partners are Petrobras of Brazil, Sapetro of Nigeria, CNOOC of China and NNPC of Nigeria. Akpo is a standalone development based on a spread moored Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) moored in 1314m water depth with a storage capacity of 2 million barrels of condensate. The stabilized condensate is exported via offloading lines and a deep water buoy located 2 km away from the FPSO.