Tuesday 18 December 2018

Angola’s Sonangol and BP signed an agreement to progress to final investment decision the development of the Platina field in deepwater Block 18, offshore Angola. They also agreed to extend the production licence for the BP-operated Greater Plutonio project on Block 18 to 2032, subject to government approval, and for Sonangol to take an 8% equity interest in the block.

Platina would be BP’s first new operated development in Angola since the PSVM project in Block 31 began production in 2013. It would be the second phase of development in Block 18 – the Greater Plutonio project started up in 2007.

The agreements were signed in Luanda by Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol Carlos Saturnino and BP group chief executive Bob Dudley.

Discovered in 1999, the Platina field, in water depth of approximately 1,300 metres, is planned to be developed as a subsea tie-back to the existing Greater Plutonio floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO). The final investment decision for the development is anticipated in the second quarter of 2019 with first oil then expected in late 2021/early 2022. The production licence extension will enable later life production from the Greater Plutonio fields as well as the future output expected from Platina.

BP and Sonangol also signed two further memoranda of understanding (MOUs) regarding potential further access and exploration offshore Angola and co-operation 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, approximately 30 kilometres north of Luanda.