Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Energy major Woodside has flagged delays and cost increases at its Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 project, in Senegal, following a cost and schedule review.
The company on Tuesday said that first oil is now targeted for mid-2024, instead of late 2023 as initially planned, while total project costs are now expected to be between $4.9-billion and $5.2-billion, a 7% to 13% increase from the previous cost estimate of $4.6-billion.
The cost and schedule review identified remedial work required on the flotation production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, with Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill saying the remedial work was "unexpected".
“We have taken the prudent decision to have the remedial work conducted while the FPSO remains at the shipyard in Singapore. This minimises the impact to the project schedule as it is safer, more efficient and more cost-effective than undertaking the work offshore Senegal,” O’Neill said.
“This approach ensures we can achieve production start-up in line with the adjusted schedule and ramp up operations as planned. The change in project schedule has no impact on Woodside’s production guidance for 2023,” she said.
At the end of June, the Sangomar project was 88% complete, with the subsea installation campaign 78% complete and the subsea work scope nearly 95% complete. The development drilling programme continues with 12 of 23 wells drilled and completed.