A new Floating Production Storage Offloading vessel christened FPSO Professor John Evans Atta Mills has arrived in Ghana.

The vessel, according to a statement from Tullow Ghana, is expected to start producing oil from the TEN fields by July/August 2016.

“The FPSO began its voyage from Singapore to Ghana on 23rd January 2016 with almost zero “carry over”, meaning only 2,000 man hours of work remained to be completed during the voyage. This is a very significant industry achievement. The FPSO will move directly to the installation phase when it arrives on station,” the statement added.

It noted: “This will be followed by the hook-up of subsea facilities via flowlines, risers and control umbilicals, much of which has already been pre-installed. In addition, 6 wells have already been completed, and the completion of the remaining wells is on schedule. The integrated facilities will undergo final commissioning and testing during the second quarter of this year before first oil.”

The development of the TEN fields is being led by Tullow Oil along with its partners the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Kosmos Energy, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and PetroSA (the TEN Partners).

“We are extremely pleased and proud that Ghana’s second FPSO has arrived safely here on our shores. It is a source of pride to note that many of the component parts of both the FPSO and the subsea infrastructure were built and supplied by Ghanaian companies.

“Tullow and its partners remain at the forefront of unlocking Ghana’s oil resources for the mutual benefit of the Nation and Shared Prosperity. We can look forward to First Oil from the TEN fields by July/August this year,” Tullow Ghana Ltd Managing Director, Charles Darku said.

The FPSO Professor John Evans Atta Mills was constructed by MODEC and will be operated by MODEC Ghana Ltd on behalf of the TEN Partners.