The Firenze floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel has set sail from Dubai to Ivory Coast to start production for Eni SPA at Baleine field, the operator said in a release Apr. 4.
Baleine field is the largest hydrocarbon discovery in Ivory Coast, with an estimated oil in place of 2.5 billion bbl and 3.3 tcf of associated gas. Its development will be Africa's first net-zero emission project (Scope 1 and 2), the operator said.
The FPSO, to be renamed Baleine after its arrival, has been refurbished and upgraded to treat up to 15,000 b/d of oil and about 25,000 cfd of associated gas.
Gas will be delivered to shore via a newly built export pipeline. Installation of the subsea production system and well completion campaign are under way for a production start by June 2023.
Eni's phased development and fast track model has enabled the project’s scheduled production to begin less than 2 years from the Baleine 1X discovery well and 1½ years after the final investment decision (FID), Eni said (OGJ Online, July 28, 2022).
The company is progressing the project’s second phase, forecasting production start by December 2024 after having taken FID in December 2022.
Baleine field extends over Blocks CI-101 and CI-802. Eni serves as operator with partner PetroCi Holding.