Eni said the Firenze floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is to be deployed in the Whale oil and gas field, has left Dubai for its destination in Ivorian waters.
The Italian energy company is partnered with the Ivorian national oil and gas company PetroCi in the offshore oil and gas field that spans blocks CI-101 and CI-802.
According to Eni, the FPSO Firenze will enable the start of production from the Baleine field, which is to date the largest hydrocarbon discovery in Ivory Coast.
The discovery is estimated to contain 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 3.3 trillion cubic feet of associated gas. It was made in July 2022 following the drilling of the Whale East 1X well in Block CI-802.
In September 2021, the Italian firm made an oil discovery in Block CI-101.
Eni said the Whale oil and gas field development would also be the first net zero emissions project in Africa in terms of scope 1 and 2.
Renamed Baleine on arrival in Ivory Coast, the FPSO Firenze has been refurbished and upgraded to prepare it to handle up to 15,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil and nearly 25 million cubic feet per day (Mcfd) of associated gas.
The Italian oil and gas company said: "Eni's phased development model and fast track have proven to be effective, as the project is expected to start production less than two years after the Whale 1X well discovery and one and a half years after the FID.
« Eni progresse déjà rapidement sur la deuxième phase du projet prévoyant un démarrage de la production d’ici décembre 2024 après avoir pris le FID en décembre 2022. »
The company said that all the gas produced from the Whale field will be delivered onshore via a newly laid export pipeline.
Currently, the installation of the subsea production system and the well completion campaign are underway. These should help Eni to accelerate the start of production from the Whale oil and gas field by June 2023.