Tullow Moves to Develop Tweneboa, Enyera Discoveries

By J. Ato Kobbie, Managing Editor

Jubilee Field Operator, Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, last Friday signed a one-year contract with Seadrill Limited, to secure its ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig, West Leo, for operations in its Deepwater Tano Block, offshore Ghana.
The West Leo, is currently under construction at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore, where the floating, production, storage and offloading vessel FPSO Kwame Nkrumah MV 21, now producing the Jubilee Field, was built.

The securing of the deal to commit the West Leo rig well in advance underlines the scarcity of rigs and the level of exploration activities currently going on around the world.

West Leo is scheduled to be delivered to the owners at the end of January, 2012 and is expected to journey to Ghana to drill development wells in the Deepwater Tano Block, where the Tweneboa and Enyera discoveries are expected to be developed towards production.
The Business Analyst sources indicate that even though the block Operator has not presented a plan of development (pod) for the two discoveries, it is expected to do that before the end of 2011.
The two discoveries are expected to be developed and produced together. Commenting recently on a successful appraisal of Enyenra, Tullow’s Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, said:
"This excellent result demonstrates that we are close to declaring the Enyenra and Tweneboa development commercial. Although the ultimate extent of the fields are yet to be fully determined, confirmation of this up-dip extension and long oil column in Enyenra is very encouraging."
“The potential contract revenue for the one-year period (from West Leo) is US$204 million which includes US$18 million in mobilization revenue. In addition, the rig can earn a daily performance bonus of up to 10 percent,” a statement on the website of Seadrill said.
According to Seadrill, the unit will upon completion, start its transit to Ghana where the Tullow contract is expected to commence in mid April 2012. West Leo will be the second unit of the Moss Maritime CS50 Mk II design that Seadrill puts into operations.
Tullow operates the Deepwater Tano licence and holds a 49.95% along with partners Kosmos Energy and Anadarko Petroleum each with 18%, Sabre Oil & Gas holding 4.05% and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) holding 10%.
Seadrill is already looking for future opportunities in Ghana, as Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in Seadrill Management AS, says, "We are very pleased to have secured our first deepwater contract with Tullow, a fast growing and dynamic independent oil and gas company. We believe Ghana, which is one of the most promising new deepwater frontiers, may offer significant opportunities for us going forward.”
Seadrill said it will continue to strengthen its revenue backlog and have with this contract secured attractive employment for all its deep and ultra-deepwater units.
Tullow Oil plc, the group company of Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, is a leading independent oil & gas, exploration and production group, listed on the London, Irish and Ghanaian (symbol: TLW) stock exchanges and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The Group has interests in over 90 exploration and production licences across 22 countries and focuses on four core areas: Africa, Europe, South Asia and South America.

In Africa, Tullow operates the producing Jubilee Field in Ghana, which is currently pumping around 80,000 barrels of oil per day, as well as other fields in Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Congo (Brazzaville) and Equatorial Guinea, with two large appraisal and development programmes in Ghana and Uganda. Tullow also has exploration interests in Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Madagascar, Namibia, Kenya and Ethiopia. j.atokobbie@yahoo.com