BP has started development drilling at its deep-water Platina field off Angola, a project that is running many years behind the initial schedule.

The UK supermajor is drilling ahead with the Valaris-owned drillship DS-12 on its operated Block 18, according to the country’s regulator, the Angola Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG).

The London-headquartered giant and its partners in the core offshore block — including state player Sonangol P&P — will drill two production wells and two water injectors on the field.

These wells are set to be tied back to the Greater Plutonio floating production, storage and offloading unit, which has production capacity of 240,000 barrels per day and storage capacity of 1.77 million barrels, while it can also handle up to 400 million cubic feet per day of gas.

The ANPG said on Tuesday that the Platina partners are chasing an estimated 44 million barrels of oil reserves, targeting production of 30,000 bpd from the field.

ANGP said projected costs for the development have come down by 20%, with an estimated 10% increase in the field’s reserves. The development work is set to be concluded in 12 months, it added.

US rig owner Valaris says on its latest fleet status report that BP has chartered the Valaris drillship DS-12 from July this year until January 2021 off Angola for four firm wells, plus a quartet of one-well options.

In March this year, BP handed TechnipFMC an integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract at Platina.

TechnipFMC called the contract “significant” and it will see it manufacture, deliver and install the subsea equipment at the field in water depths ranging from 1200 to 1500 metres.

The equipment includes subsea trees, a production manifold with associated subsea control and connection systems, as well as rigid pipelines, umbilicals and flexible jumpers.

TechnipFMC did not reveal the value of the contract, however it typically values “significant” contracts at between $75 million and $250 million.

As of early this year, first oil from Platina was planed for late 2021 or early 2022.

In May, Angola’s Ministry of Mineral & Petroleum Resources said block partner Sonangol Sinopec International (SSI) had agreed to assign an 8.28% interest in the Block 18 production sharing contract to Sonangol P&P.

This move will see the stake held in the acreage by SSI — a Sino-Angolan joint venture — fall from 46% to 37.72%, while Sonangol’s share in the block will increase to 16.28%.

BP’s operating stake was untouched and remained at 46% in a PSC that is valid until 2032.

Greater Plutonio is an ageing oilfield complex that was brought on stream in 2007 via a newbuild FPSO.

The initial development exploited the Galio, Cromio, Cobalto, Paladio and Plutonio, with Platina — discovered 21 years ago — to be developed as a subsea tie-back to the FPSO.

Field Development

BP finally starts drilling at key deep-water oil project off Angola