BG Egypt announced the delivery of first gas on 08 August 2009 from the Sequoia subsea development located 90 kilometres offshore Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea. Straddling both the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) and Rosetta concessions, the Sequoia unitised development which represents a gross US$1 billion investment, has been delivered ahead of schedule and under budget.
Sequoia is another successful milestone in BG Egypt’s phased development of the gas-producing areas in the offshore Nile Delta. It brings into production six new subsea wells, three located in each of the concessions, which will help maintain overall plateau production.
Tim Blackford, Asset General Manager, BG Egypt, said:
“The Sequoia project has been a great success in terms of overall delivery. Drilling performance, fabrication, installation and hook-up work has been exceptional. We thank our partners PETRONAS and Edison for their strong support, and all our contractors for their excellent work. The project has been delivered six months ahead of schedule, under budget and with an exemplary safety record incorporating 1.5 million man hours worked without any significant safety or environmental issue.
“Egypt is a core part of BG Group’s global portfolio and we are proud to have successfully delivered another development which will contribute to the country’s long-term domestic and export energy requirements.”
The Sequoia development was executed by the Burullus Gas Company S.A.E, the WDDM Joint Operating Company (JOC). It included the drilling of six new subsea wells in water depths ranging from 105 to 535 metres. The deepwater subsea facilities all tie into the WDDM concession and were installed using the Saipem-operated multi-purpose vessel “FDS”.
The main Subsea Engineering Procurement Installation and Construction (EPIC) contract was performed by Saipem which sub-contracted Petrojet – the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) affiliate – to complete the majority of the structures fabrication and all concrete pipe coating.
At the peak of the onshore fabrication phase, Petrojet employed in excess of 220 people at the Maadia yard and Saipem operated five major construction vessels in the field simultaneously.
BG Group holds a 62.99 per cent unit interest in Sequoia. PETRONAS and Edison have 28.35 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively.
(BG Press Release)
