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Bonga News

22 Jan 2024

Argeo Searcher Set to Sail to Indian Ocean after Shell’s Nigeria Task

(Credit: Argeo)

Oslo-listed offshore service company Argeo has informed that its DP2 vessel Argeo Searcher completed the deepwater inspection services at Shell’s Bonga field, and is scheduled to set sail to Indian Ocean for a job with India’s National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).In a vessel schedule update, released on January 22, 2024, Argeo confirmed its current backlog includes close to $53 million (NOK 550 million), with a further sales and revenue potential of additional $19 million (NOK 200) million for Argeo Searcher vessel in the second half of 2024.According to the company…

09 Dec 2022

Westwood: Record Levels of FPS Throughput Capacity to be Sanctioned in 2022

©Ranimiro/AdobeStock

As we enter the final month of 2022, a review of the floating production system (FPS) market revealed that some E&Ps have been bold with investments in the development of their oil and gas (O&G) reserves, with a total of 1.9 mmboepd (1.3 mmbpd of oil and 3.8 bcfd of gas) of FPS throughput capacity sanctioned year to date (YTD). This represents a 7% increase on 2021, with Westwood anticipating an additional 180 kboepd of FPS throughput capacity to be sanctioned before the end of the year.

14 Jun 2022

West Africa Market Harbors Positive Potential for MODU Operators

Chart courtesy MSI

The region could be a key growth market for the oil and gas industry going forward, writes Joshua Belo-Osagie, Maritime Strategies International (MSI).Improving sentiment surrounds energy market prospects offshore West Africa, the positive mood underpinned by higher oil prices, reformed regulatory frameworks in key markets including Angola and Nigeria and the discovery of major prospects off the Ivory Coast and Namibia.In addition, the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have only reinforced some of these pre-existing dynamics…

20 Apr 2021

TMC Compressors Names New CEO

Christian Ness - Credit: TMC

TMC Compressors (TMC), an Oslo-based company supplying offshore and marine compressors, has appointed Christian Ness as the company’s new CEO.Christian Ness succeeds Per Kjellin as part of a planned generational change. Kjellin will continue working for TMC as advisor in the company’s business development team. He will also join the company’s board of directors, TMC said."This is a well-run business so my mandate is to manage the excellent foundation that is already in place,…

13 Jan 2021

Maritime Security: Neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea

© Lucia / Adobe Stock

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

31 Jul 2018

Shell to Make Final Investment Call on Nigeria Oilfield in 2019

Royal Dutch Shell and its partners will decide next year on whether to go ahead with the development of Nigeria's Bonga Southwest offshore oilfield, a senior company official said on Tuesday.The project, one of the country's largest with an expected production of 180,000 barrels per day, will generate profit at below $50 a barrel, Bayo Ojuli, managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, told reporters.Shell is currently negotiating a production sharing contract with the Nigerian government which will determine the viability of the project, he said. The negotiations are expected to finish this year.Shell operates the project and ExxonMobil, Total , Eni and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company are partners.(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Jason Neely)

17 Aug 2017

As IOC Books Cargoes, Nigerian October Liftings Mixed

India's IOC booked a total of 4 million barrels from traders Shell and Total, while Nigeria's initial October export plans mostly showed slipping levels. Export plans for Forcados, Qua Iboe, Bonny Light, Bonga Erha, Amenam and Usan nearly all showed lower figures compared with September. Forcados exports were scheduled to rise to 256,000 bpd, and Erha also showed an increase. But Qua Iboe, the largest export stream, and the other grades released were all set to slip month-on-month. There were roughly 10-15 cargoes left from the September loading plan. Official Selling Prices for July were expected by Friday. Differentials have been supported by strong refinery margins. Trading was limited as state oil company Sonangol allocated cargoes from its recently issued October export plan.

14 Feb 2017

W. Africa Crude-Asian Tenders, Pending Export Plans Slow Trade

Physical trading in West Africa was muted as the market awaited tender results and the April-loading Angolan crude oil export plan. * The benchmark oil prices on which West Africa crude oil trades retraced some of Monday's losses as confidence in OPEC's cut plan rose. * Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said the country lost up to $100 billion in oil revenues last year due to militant attacks. The vice president travelled to the oil-producing Delta this week to further talks with militants. * Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and ENI have asked a Nigerian court to lift a temporary forfeiture of a long-disputed oilfield, a copy of the court documents filed by the two firms showed. * Tenders from India, and scattered demand on the U.S.

15 Jan 2016

U.S. Light Crude Imports Surge Again

U.S. imports of light crude from across the Atlantic are set to jump this month to their highest in more than two years, according to market sources and trade data that indicate global oil flows are being scrambled by the lowest prices in years and the end of the 1970s era U.S. export ban. Shipments totaling some 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) are booked or underway from producers including Norway and Nigeria, a surprisingly rapid revival of flows that had dwindled to nearly nothing in 2014-2015, after the U.S. shale oil revolution got in full swing. The arbitrage has opened as a result of an inversion in the spread between benchmark U.S. crude oil prices and global Brent. After five years at a discount due to the eruption of domestic production, U.S.

14 Jan 2016

US Light Oil Imports Resurge to Highest in Years

U.S. imports of light crude from across the Atlantic are set to jump this month to their highest in more than two years, according to market sources and trade data that indicate global oil flows are being scrambled by the lowest prices in years and the end of the 1970s era U.S. export ban. Shipments totaling some 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) are booked or underway from producers including Norway and Nigeria, a surprisingly rapid revival of flows that had dwindled to nearly nothing in 2014-2015, after the U.S. shale oil revolution got in full swing. The arbitrage has opened as a result of an inversion in the spread between benchmark U.S. crude oil prices and global Brent. After five years at a discount due to the eruption of domestic production, U.S.

28 Dec 2015

Offshore Prospects for 2016: Playing the Waiting Game?

Photo: Douglas-Westwood

This year, the offshore oil and gas industry has had to come to terms with the worst downturn for more than a decade. With commodity prices plummeting to an 11-year low in December, market research and consulting firm Douglas-Westwood (DW) reflects on the year gone by and considers the outlook for the year to come. Offshore rig markets still have a lot to digest before recovery. Rig dayrates have plummeted as a function of significant oversupply. Many of these rigs were ordered in the previous up-cycle, but have only recently entered the fleet at a time when the appetite to drill is poor.

21 Oct 2015

FPSO Guide to Life Extension

Majestic The FPSO Fluminense (2003) Photo: Sembcorp

There are new-builds, and there are conversions. In lean times, there’s also “life-extension” for FPSOs increasingly seen as the best hope of developing oilfields too pricy as platform projects. Life extension is about making first-time money, cutting costs or continuing to earn when a field or floater enters a new stage. It’s also about safety. Life extension involves major, multiyear considerations for operators and FPSO contractors, and for all approaches to longer life, history is the great decider.

07 Oct 2015

Shell Starts Bonga Phase 3 in Nigeria

Photo: Shell

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) announced the start-up of production from the Bonga Phase 3 project. Bonga Phase 3 is an expansion of the Bonga Main development, with peak production expected to be some 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent, Shell said. This will be transported through existing pipelines to the Bonga floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, which has the capacity to produce more than 200,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas a day.

21 Sep 2015

FPSO: Guide to Life Extension

Maersk Peregrino FPSO off Brazil.  Photo: Oeyvind  Hagen Statoil

There are new-builds, and there are conversions. In lean times, there’s also “life-extension” for FPSOs increasingly seen as the best hope of developing oilfields too pricy as platform projects. Life extension is about making first-time money, cutting costs or continuing to earn when a field or floater enters a new stage. It’s also about safety. Life extension involves major, multiyear considerations for operators and FPSO contractors, and for all approaches to longer life, history is the great decider.

13 Aug 2015

W. Africa Crude: Tenders Brighten Dull Market

Tender deals helped to liven up a lacklustre West African crude oil market on Thursday, though overall demand remained weak. Indian Oil Corporation bought four cargoes of West African oil, traders said, nibbling at an overhang of unsold September cargoes just a few days before Angola's October loading programme comes to market. Traders were watching to see whether there could be an impact on Chinese imports of West African oil after two huge explosions in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin killed at least 50 people, including at least a dozen fire fighters. One trader said there was no immediate impact for oil cargoes already in the area.

10 Jan 2014

Brazil Offshore: Petrobras & Subsea Engineering

Brazil’s Petrobras has been one of the leading players in deepwater, subsea development projects since the turn of the century. These projects include pre-salt and post-salt plays, which require extensive and complex subsea engineering and construction efforts. It would be impossible for Petrobras to develop all of its projects alone, therefore much is done by specialized companies, mostly of foreign origin. “We could not have advanced in this project (pre-salt) conventionally, developing the production individually. We needed a global vision of the projects, starting from a high level plan,” said José Formigli, Petrobras’ Executive Director of E&P, speaking of the primary plan for the development of the pre-salt at the Santos Basin, the Plansal, which was created in 2008.

28 Oct 2013

Subsea Vessels Poised for Increased Global Demand

Calvin Ling, Douglas-Westwood, Singapore

In its latest subsea vessels report Douglas-Westwood (DW) forecast more than $100b of expenditure on subsea vessel operations over the next five years – with global demand is expected to increase by 23%. The increase in expenditure is expected to be higher than the growth in vessel days, due to the move towards higher specification vessels to cater for deeper and more complicated field development programs. Dayrates for high specification dive support vessels (DSV) and multipurpose support vessels (MSV) are expected to increase by over 40% by 2017.

23 Jul 2012

Nigeria Fines Shell US$ 5-billion for Oil Spill

Dr. Peter Idabor, Director General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) was quoted by  local media as announcing the fine against Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, reports 'AfriqueJet - Afrique Actualité Information'. He said the sum was an “administrative penalty” considering the large quantity of crude oil discharged into the environment by SNEPCo and the impact of the incident on the water and aquatic life. The 40,000 barrels of crude oil that were spilled at Bonga impacted approximately on 950 square kilometres of water surface…

27 Dec 2011

Shell: Bonga Oil Leak Largely Dispersed

SNEPCo confirmed the oil leak from the Bonga facility off the coast of Nigeria has largely dispersed. The news comes five days after less than 40,000 barrels of oil leaked during a routine operation to transfer of oil from Bonga’s floating production, storage and offtake (FPSO) vessel to an oil tanker. Since the leak, teams from SNEPCo have worked around the clock with international oil spill experts, using a combination of dispersants and booms to tackle the leaked oil. SNEPCo will continue to monitor the area, including using radar satellite, and take appropriate steps to disperse any further persistent oil sheens. SNEPCo's robust response and the natural weathering process, has helped bring a swift end to this incident.

23 Jun 2008

Shell Deepwater Platform Attacked

An attack by armed separatists in speedboats has forced Royal Dutch Shell to shut down its biggest offshore oil production unit in , removing a tenth of the Opec state's output. The raid on Bonga, a floating oil production and storage facility 120km offshore, has caught Nigeria's foreign oil operators by surprise. The deep water installations in the were previously thought to be beyond the reach of the militant groups that continue to harass and disrupt oil production in the swamps of the Niger Delta. The attack was aimed at Bonga but the militants also attacked two drilling rigs and three supply vessels in the area. The American captain of one supply vessel, under contract for Chevron, was taken hostage.

09 Sep 2003

Outlook for Floating Production Systems

By James R. International Maritime Associates, Inc. Floating production has evolved to a mature technology that opens for development oil and gas reservoirs that would be otherwise impossible or uneconomic to tap. The technology enables production far beyond the depth constraints of fixed platforms, generally considered to be 1,400 ft. (426.7 m), and provides a flexible solution for developing short-lived fields with marginal reserves and fields in remote locations where installation of a fixed facility would be difficult. Floating production systems vary greatly in appearance - from ship-shape FPSO vessels to multi hull production semis to cylindrical shaped production spars.

18 Dec 2003

Great Ship: Great Ships of 2003

Industries Co., Ltd. For many years now, contracts for ships and floating units to operate in an offshore environment have been much-prized value-added goals at Samsung. These include not only shuttle but drill ships, floating storage and offloading units (FSOs), with their derivative production types (FPSOs), crane ships, and various types of floating and fixed platforms. Some of the more interesting ships that have been created here have included a trio of deepwater drill ships for Reading & Bates capable of working in water depths down to 3000m, the 312,500 dwt FPSO Bonga for operating off Nigeria, and the Saibos FDS, a pipelayer/crane vessel with a jib capacity of 600tonnes.

13 Jul 2004

Stolt Offshore Announces Results

Stolt Offshore S.A. announced unaudited results for the second quarter and six months ended on May 31, 2004. "Stolt Offshore's turnaround is now well advanced. The Group now has the financial resources to compete effectively in its chosen markets thanks to a much improved balance between equity and debt. Furthermore, 45 project wins, with a total value of $1.2 billion in the first half of 2004 underlines that Stolt Offshore not only has made strong progress in winning profitable contracts but is transforming its earnings base and moving on from the period dominated by legacy projects. Looking ahead, the management team is focused on delivering sustainable profits.