Chevron finds new oil and condensate in shallow water offshore Cabinda

Chevron announced a discovery adjacent to the Cabinda coastline. Well 79-3XST1 drilled in 397 feet of water encountered 225 feet of net hydrocarbon pay in the Upper Pinda.
The well tested 11.6 mm cf of natural gas/day plus 2,550 barrels of liquids from a 150 foot perforated interval. The discovery extends a trend of undeveloped condensate and crude oil discoveries in the Vanza Longui Area. Chevron has a 39.2 % interest with Sonangol (41 %), Total E&P (10 %) and ENI Angola (9.8 %).

Analysis:
Most of the recent big discoveries by the various oil and gas majors in the region have been in the deep water blocks far from shore. Blocks 14, 15, 17, 31 and 32 all have multiple finds in water depths deeper than 1,000 feet and requiring expensive floating production platforms that take over a year to build.
Chevron is one of the largest operators in Angola with an extensive onshore/offshore base at Malongo terminal. Malongo terminal has a storage capacity of 1.7 mm barrels.

The Malongo complex includes three platforms equipped with compression equipment and tanker storage of natural gas liquids. This field can be developed with subsea well heads tied back to an underwater manifold hooked up to a pipeline that can bring the crude oil and natural gas back to land. This means that capital and operating costs will be much lower than for the deep water blocks.
Chevron mentioned that several development options existed depending upon the extent of the discovery. Construction of a plant for liquefaction of the natural gas will be relatively inexpensive and may be the best option.

Over the years, shallow gas deposits have been considered hazards offshore Cabinda.
Cabinda Gulf Oil Company lost a drilling rig to gas sand just a few hundred feet deep. The escaping gas aerated the sea and the rig fell in to the water.