PetroSA’s Project Ikhwezi initiative has been granted regulatory approval by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
The project, which is PetroSA’s flagship initiative to secure additional reserves to sustain its Mossel Bay gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery, will produce gas feedstock from the offshore F-O development fields.
PetroSA said the approval is a major milestone, allowing the National Oil Company to produce natural gas from the F-O development fields when the project is commissioned.
Project Ikhwezi is designed to sustain the life of the Mossel Bay GTL Refinery. The wells are based off the F-O field located 40 kilometres south-east of the offshore F-A production platform, with gas production from the first well planned for mid-2013. Further development of other gas prospects near the F-O field could potentially assist with sustaining the life of the GTL Refinery, the company said.
Commenting, PetroSA Group CEO Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo said: “Project Ikhwezi creates a critical opportunity for sustaining the operations of our GTL Refinery. It ensures that we continue to play a vital role in the South African petrochemicals market. Most importantly, PetroSA will continue to be a source of much-needed employment in the Southern Cape.”
The drilling operation of the five Project Ikhwezi wells is scheduled to start in November 2012 and should be completed by the second quarter of 2015. It will take around six months to complete each of the five wells. The drilling activity accounts for 63 per cent of the project’s total capital expenditure, the company said.
Work will also proceed on installing subsea pipelines and production infrastructure before tying the pipelines back to the Mossel Bay refinery via PetroSA’s F-A platform. The subsea pipeline will be installed between September and December 2012, with the remainder of the subsea infrastructure expected to be installed in 2013.
