Project Profile
Value: US$10,000 million
Location: approx 50 miles (80 km) off the coast, Republic of Congo
Start-up year: December 2015 (Phase 1b), March 2017 (Moho Nord development)
Production capacity: 100,000 boepd
Water Depth: 540 - 1,100 m
Located approximately 50 miles (80 kilometres) off the coast of the Republic of Congo, the Moho-Bilondo oil field consists of four reservoirs. Situated in water depths ranging from 1,772 to 3,609 feet (540 to 1,100 metres), the field was first discovered in 1995 and holds estimated reserves of 230 MMbo.
Field development on Moho-Bilondo was approved by the Congolese government in August 2005. Developed in two stages, the first phase of development taps reserves in the Mobim and Bilondo reservoirs. This development plan includes 14 subsea wells tied to a Floating Production Unit (FPU). Awarded to FMC Technologies for a consideration of US$115 million, the subsea system includes 14 subsea trees, jumpers, manifolds, and production control and intervention systems. With nine production wells and five water-injection wells, the development also incorporates bottom-hole gas injection. The oil-producing wells are connected to two manifolds, and then tied via riser to the FPU.
Acergy (formerly Stolt Offshore) won the US$280 million contract to provide the engineering, procurement, supply and installation of umbilicals and flowlines for the subsea development. The work scope included the installation of approximately 55 miles (88 kilometres) of flowlines and export pipelines, as well as 11 miles (18 kilometres) of flexible flowlines and a control umbilical in 2,625 foot deep (800 metre deep) water.
In a US$400 million contract, Hyundai Heavy Industries provided the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the FPU for the Moho-Bilondo development. Weighing in at 28,000 tons (25,401 tonnes), the production vessel spans 618 feet (188.5 metres) long and 112 feet (34 metres) high. Consisting of a hull, topside processing units and accommodations, the FPU is capable of refining 90,000 bopd and 60 MMcf/d (1.7 MMcm/d). For a consideration of US$38 million, Doris Engineering was subcontracted to provide the FEED for the FPU processing equipment and the mooring system. In January 2009 Technocean was contracted by Total Congo E&P for Inspection, Maintenance and Repair operations on the Moho Bilondo site in the DRC Sector.
Oil is exported to the Total-operated Djeno terminal onshore via a 50 mile long (80 kilometre long), 16 inch-diameter pipeline. Awarded to Acergy in a contract worth US$55 million, the work included the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the pipeline connecting the FPU to the terminal. Development was made commercially viable because Total utilised existing infrastructure to bring the gas to market.
In December 2015, Total brought on stream the Moho Phase 1b project, located 75 kms off the coast of Pointe-Noire in the Republic of the Congo. The project is operated by Total and has a production capacity of 40,000 barrels oil equivalent per day (boe/d). Moho Phase 1b, located in water depths ranging from 750 to 1,200 metres, involves the drilling of 11 new subsea wells and the installation of the two most powerful subsea multiphase pumps in the world. It is tied back to the existing Floating Production Unit (FPU) of the Moho Bilondo field, producing since 2008. The nearby Moho Nord development, launched concurrently with Moho Phase 1b in 2013, is ongoing and will add a further 100,000 boe/d of capacity.
Operators:
Total E&P Congo: Operator with 53.5% interest
Chevron: 31.5% interest
Societe Nationale des Petroles du Congo (SNPC): 15% interest
Contractors:
Sparrows Group and SPIE Oil & Gas Services ( Joint contract): Crane maintenance contract
2H Offshore: Delivery management of the TLP top tensioned riser systems
Acergy: Engineering, procurement, supply and installation of umbilicals and flowlines for the subsea development
Aker Solutions: Supply subsea production systems
FMC Technologies: 14 subsea trees, jumpers, manifolds, and production control and intervention systems
GMC: Supply mechanical connectors
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI): Engineering, procurement, supply, construction, and commissioning for the two offshore facilities (FPU and TLP) to be deployed in Moho Nord field
Joint venture for engineering and fabrication contract to supply a tension-leg wellhead platform:
Hyundai Heavy Industries
Doris Engineering
OneSubsea: Supply booster pump systems
Subsea Riser Products (SRP): Supply a 3,500-psi drilling riser and deployment tooling
Technip: Engineering, procurement, supply, construction, installation and pre-commissioning contract
Technocean (Reef Subsea): Inspection, Maintenance and Repair operations
Fugro: Five-year contract with an estimated value of US$100 million by Total E&P Congo. The agreement is for ROV services and remote subsea tooling in the Moho Nord field, situated around 75 kilometres off the coast of Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo. Fugro will supply four 200hp FCV 3000 work class ROV systems and innovative BOP tooling which will be installed on board three mobile drilling units and one field support vessel.
Ocean Installer: Contract for deep water UFR installation work with Total E&P Congo at the Moho Nord field off the coast of the Republic of Congo. The contract will see Ocean Installer install and pre-commission an umbilical, Multi-Phase Pump (MPP), flying leads and spools in water depths of around 1,000 metres. The scope includes project management, engineering and logistics, in addition to offshore work. The project will be managed from the Ocean Installer Stavanger Head office, whilst the DP3 Construction Support Vessel Normand Vision will be utilised for the offshore execution. She is equipped with a 150Te Vertical Lay Spread (VLS), a 400Te active heave compensated crane and two work class remotely operated vehicles from Oceaneering.
Subcontractors:
Bardex Corporation: BOP, Cage and drilling riser skidding system for HHI
Doris Engineering: Conceptual design and FEED for the FPU processing equipment and the mooring system
Saipem: fabrication of subsea structures, including suction anchors
Strainstall Limited: Provide a Integrated Marine Management System for HHI
Tenaris: Pipeline construction services
ShawCor Ltd (through Socotherm): Contract from Tenaris to provide pipeline coatings for the Moho Nord Oil Pipeline project involving coating approximately 165 kms of 6\" to 16\" pipe with 3-layer polypropylene anticorrosion coating, 42 kms of 8\" to 10\" pipe with 5-layer syntactic polypropylene coating and 19 kms of 16\" pipe with 3-layer polypropylene anticorrosion coating together with concrete weight coating
Sonardyne International Ltd.: Multi-million pound contract by UTEC to supply Fusion 6G acoustic positioning technology. Fusion 6G is the industry standard tool for subsea construction and survey, specified for its versatility, ease of use and low risk. The LBL equipment being supplied to UTEC includes high specification Compatt 6 seabed transponders, ROV-mounted transceivers, associated topside hardware and software. Tasks will include pipeline touch down monitoring, mattress installation and jumper metrology in water depths ranging from 650 metres to 1,100 metres.
TPSMI Congo: Contract for diving support services and provision of TPSMI’s other capabilities. In addition, prior to Technip contract award, TPSMI successfully passed TOTAL EP Diving Safety Management Systems audit to reach approved supplier status. The audit took place towards the end of 2014 and was conducted at the TPSMI’ Africa head office in Congo, where a full review of the processes, facilities and staff competencies was carried out.
Aquatic Engineering and Construction Ltd: Contract on the US$10 billion Moho Nord subsea project, off the coast of the Republic of Congo, West Africa. The contract was awarded by a UK-based subcontractor working for Total E&P Congo. Aquatic’s ten-month campaign portion will mobilise in October 2015. Aquatic will provide the technical expertise and support to operate the equipment hired for the duration of the operation. Aquatic will be instrumental in the installation of 23 km of subsea flexible pipes and 50 km of umbilicals.