Tullow Ghana and its partners have noted that their gas export project in Ghana is expected to start next year.

This follows the inclusion of provisions for gas export in the development plan of the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) fields, which was formally approved by Government on 29th May, 2013.

The TEN Project is Tullow’s second development offshore Ghana and will combine production from the TEN fields, a report by Tullow Oil indicated lately.

“This paves way for Tullow and its partners to proceed with the development and to define the final schedule and capital programme, with the aim of delivering first oil by mid-2016 and enabling a steady ramp up to an expected capacity production rate of 80,000 bopd,” the report emphasized.

It said that the development of the TEN oilfield project will require the drilling and completion of up to 24 development wells, which will be connected through sub-sea infrastructure to a FPSO vessel and moored in approximately 1,500 metres of water.

“Major contract awards for the FPSO and subsea tenders are underway and the West Leo rig has been secured to carry out the drilling and completion of the development wells. The overall cost of the development is now estimated to be $4.9 billion, excluding FPSO lease costs.

The increase in development cost is associated with an expansion of the scope to enhance the recovery from Ntomme and facilitate gas export, in addition to receiving updated bids for major contracts. Tullow has already completed the drilling of the Enyenra-6A and Ntomme-4A (Nt-04) water injection wells to better determine the oil-water contacts in each of the Enyenra and Ntomme fields.

The Enyenra-6A appraisal well was completed in April 2013 after encountering 18 metres of oil pay indicating a deeper than expected oil water contact in the field. The Nt-04 well also indicated a slightly deeper oil water contact and good reservoir development.

An injectivity test at Nt-04 is currently being performed to confirm lateral connectivity of the target reservoirs. The wells will both be suspended for future use in the TEN development programme. A 3D seismic programme is expected to be completed over the TEN and Wawa fields by the end of the first quarter of 2014.