Volume 3, issue #24 - 13-10-1998

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Angolan Girassol oilfield to produce 200,000 bpd by 2001

Aug. 28, 1998 Elf Aquitaine will be producing oil at a rate of 200,000 bpd from its Girassol field offshore Angola around the end of 2001, Girassol project manager Antoine Serceau said.
Serceau said first oil was expected from the field around the end of 2000.
The whole construction project, with an estimated price tag of $ 2.5 bn and involving 40 wells, was expected to be completed in 2002.
The 1,400 meters deep field has estimated reserves of 1 bn barrels of oil and is part of block 17 off northern Angola, not far from the democratic republic of Congo.
Elf managing director Jerome Contamine, said offshore production reduced the risk of any impact on exploration and development work from the current conflict in the region.
"We've been producing in Angola since 1985 and so far production has never been interrupted, even during the 1991/92 civil war," Contamine said.
Elf Aquitaine received the green light for development of the Girassol field from the Angolan state oil company, Sonangol, and its joint venture partners last month.
Elf is the field operator with a 35 % stake, followed by Exxon (20 %), British Petroleum (16.66 %), Statoil (13.33 %), Norsk Hydro (10 %) and Petrofina (5 %).