Continental Focus, International Reach

Sonangol and BP to Progress Platina and Enter New MoUs

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Sonangol, the state-run oil and gas firm of Angola, and UK firm BP signed an agreement to move forward on taking the FID for the development of the Platina field. The Platina is located on BP’s prolific Block 18 in deepwaters offshore Angola. Platina will be BP’s first new operated development in Angola since the PSVM project on Block 31 began production in 2013. It would be the second phase of development in Block 18, with the Greater Plutonio project being the first on the block to come online back in 2007. Discovered in 1999, the Platina field, in a water depth of approximately 1,300 meters, is planned to be developed as a subsea tie-back to the existing Greater Plutonio FPSO. The FID for the development is anticipated in Q2 2019 with first oil then expected in late-2021/early-2022. In addition to progressing the Platina, the two agreed to extend the production license for the Greater Plutonio to 2032. The production license extension will enable later life production from the Greater Plutonio fields as well as the future output expected from Platina.The agreement also called for Sonangol to take an 8% equity interest in the block. The extension agreement would be subject to government approval. Carlos Saturnino, head of the state-run firm said: “These agreements are a positive sign of the work being done by Sonangol and the Angolan government to generate more investment in our oil industry and take us a big step closer toward increasing production from Block 18. BP has been a key partner for Sonangol and Angola for many years, having contributed to the development of the oil and gas industry through its operated and partner-operated blocks, and we look forward to continuing to work together in the years to come.”BP CEO, Bob Dudley, said: “The signing of these agreements represents an important milestone in our relationship with Sonangol. It is a major step towards new investments for BP’s business in Angola, extending production from Greater Plutonio and boosting the nation’s oil output. I would like to thank President Lourenço, the government and Sonangol for their vision, leadership and drive to improve the industry’s competitiveness and encourage new investment. BP is proud to be a partner with Angola and the signing of these agreements is a major step towards further realizing the potential of Angola’s natural resources.”BP and Sonangol also signed two MoUs regarding potential further access and exploration offshore and cooperation in a planned new products and crude terminal and storage facility in Angola. Under one MoU, the companies agreed to progress discussions for further exploration activities in Blocks 31 and 18, to enter discussions for Blocks 46 and 47, and to explore options in Block 18/15.The second MoU enables them to enter discussions regarding financing and construction of the planned terminal and storage facility at Barra do Dande in Bengo province, around 30 kms north of Luanda.

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