Speaking during the second day of the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2022 conference (https://bit.ly/3a4fuRb), Australian petroleum exploration and production company Woodside Energy’s Senior Vice President of the Sangomar field development, Paul Sullivan, provided a detailed overview of the latest developments of the project, which, with first oil production targeted for 2023, is set to become Senegal’s first offshore oil development.

“At Woodside, we understand the importance of supporting strong local content and sustainable local supply chains that deliver benefits for local communities,” stated Sullivan, adding that, “For the Government of Senegal, developing its offshore hydrocarbon resources supports its aspiration to become an emerging market economy by 2035.”

Construction of the Sangomar Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility is well-underway, with modules being progressively completed and installed on the vessel’s topside. The workforce and training of local Senegalese operators has commenced, while the complex’s subsea system structures have all been constructed and transported to Dakar, building upon the existing logistical and supply services being provided by local businesses together with established contractors.

“Critical to this success will be the local industry and workforce actively participating and benefitting from the upstream oil and gas industry. The Sangomar joint venture has always been committed to delivering economic benefits to Senegal. Given this is the first offshore development, and a new industry for Senegal, a focused effort to target opportunities within the project schedule has allowed substantial local content achievements to be realized across the project value chain,” Sullivan continued.

Woodside currently has two rigs in the Sangomar field, the Ocean Blackhawk and the Ocean Blackrhino, which are working in sequence to complete the batched drilling program, with the first program already having been completed.

Targeting approximately 230 million barrels of crude oil, the first phase of the Sangomar field development will comprise a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit, 23 subsea wells and supporting infrastructure, with the FPSO vessel moored at a water-depth of 780 meters, capable of processing 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 130 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and will have a minimum capacity of 1,300,000 barrels of crude oil.

Located approximately 100 km south of Dakar in the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep Blocks – supported by several experienced international drilling service contractors within the Dakar area – the Sangomar field development contains oil and gas over a combined area of 7,490 km² within the Senegalese potion of the MSGBC Basin.

Woodside, responsible for the development of the Sangomar field, serves as operator of the joint venture, with a participating interest of 82%, while the remaining interest of 18% is owned by Senegal’s state-owned oil company, Petrosen.

“We are proud of this achievement at Woodside,” Sullivan added, concluding that, “We look forward to building upon these successes, as well as the future 20 years of operations where we expect that local participation will continue to grow.”