Shell gets first TEN oil as production begins

Royal Dutch Shell is expected to begin lifting crude oil from the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) oil fields, which achieved its first oil flow on Wednesday to signal commercial oil production from Ghana’s second biggest oil project.

Shell thus becomes the first customer of TEN oil and will now lift several hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil before the month ends.

The President, John Mahama on Thursday switched on the valve on FPSO Prof. John Evans Atta Mills as part of the industry’s rituals to signal the flow of first oil.

The milestone, which was achieved on budget and on time, comes just three years after the Plan of Development was approved by the Government of Ghana.

The about US$5 billion project, which is expected to produce about 80,000 barrels of oil a day at full capacity, has been developed by Tullow, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Anadarko, Kosmos and PetroSA.

The CEO of Tullow Oil plc, Aidan Heavey who pushed for the development of the TEN project to go ahead amidst the collapse of oil prices on the world market said: “I am delighted that the TEN fields have reached first oil. This is an important moment for Tullow as production begins from our second operated development in Ghana. I thank the Government of Ghana, the Petroleum Commission and our partners – GNPC, Anadarko, Kosmos and PetroSA - for their support and co-operation since we made the first discovery in 2009.

“I also congratulate the project team, our contractors and sub-contractors for delivering this project on time and on budget and with great skill and professionalism and commend them for their commitment to the participation of Ghanaian staff and companies in the project.”

The CEO of GNPC, Alexander Mould further added: “This is a momentous day for Ghana and, as the national oil company, GNPC is pleased to have played a significant part in bringing our second oil production field to fruition. This is the culmination of more than a decade of work, which began with GNPC producing credible data on our oil fields. This convinced international investors, who would eventually become the TEN partners, to invest in the project.”

“The successful start of the TEN Field today is significant not least because it supplements Jubilee production and increases revenue for the State at this moment of low oil price. It will also provide additional gas for electricity generation, to drive economic growth in Ghana. I want to appreciate the collaboration with our TEN partners, as well as the support and guidance of the Petroleum Commission, the Ministry of Petroleum and other State actors, for their significant contribution to delivering this project on time and on budget.”

Ghana joined the league of oil producing countries in December 2010 when the first commercial oil flowed from the Jubilee Field.

This has since sparked significant interest in petroleum exploration in the country leading to the discovery of oil in the TEN fields in 2009.

The TEN project is expected to produce over 300 million barrels of oil equivalent over the lifetime of the field, which is estimated at 20 years. The field contains 80 percent oil and 20 percent gas.