Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, has been awarded by SAIPEM a contract to design, fabricate and pre-commission two fully-integrated technical buildings (also called E-House modules) to support the deep offshore Kaombo FPSO project in Angola, operated by Total E&P Angola with a 30% share on Block 32.
Located 260 km offshore Luanda (Angola) in water depths ranging from 1,400 to 1,950 meters, the Kaombo project will develop oil fields with estimated reserves of 650 million barrels covering an area of 800 km2.
The Kaombo development scheme includes two floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, each with a production capacity of 115,000 barrels per day, capable of producing 50MW electrical energy through gas turbines. Associated gas will be exported to the onshore Angola LNG plant. The Kaombo project includes 59 subsea wells, connected through around 300 km of subsea lines.
Saipem France is the Contractor in charge of the Engineering, Procurement, Supply, Construction, and Commissioning for the FPSOs.
These two FPSOs will be the first turret moored production plants based on converted very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for Total. The Final Investment Decision to develop the project was made in April 2014, concluding an intensive optimization exercise that reduced capital expenditure from 20 billion to 16 billion dollars, with start-up expected in 2017. Through this contract Schneider Electric confirms its role as a global partner for Oil & Gas Offshore companies in providing integrated, cost-effective and packaged solutions.
Schneider Electric’s E-House solution meets all the challenging technical specifications and standards defined by the customer in Kaombo project. Each of the two E-House modules will be 30 meters long by 20 meters high on 2 stories, and weighs approximately 1300 tons.
Design Engineering and Project Management will be performed from Schneider Electric’s Asia-Pacific E-House Engineering Center in Brisbane, Australia. The construction, equipment integration and testing will be carried out onto an offsite yard in Batam, Indonesia. Final integration of the FPSO will take place in Singapore before a final transfer up to Angolan’s coasts.
“In a fast-track, cost-effective and high-profile project like Kaombo FPSO, our customers are seeking a strong E-House project partner. The E-House module package is very complex to build and sits on the project’s critical path. Schneider Electric brings the required multiple competencies, like: structural, electrical, HVAC, Fire & Gas, We understand the strategic importance of these modules to power Kaombo project, and how strategic the project is for Total and its partners. Our teams are committed to deliver on-time with full satisfaction and displaying our Schneider Electric values: we are passionate, open, straightforward and effective.” says Patrick Albos, Oil&Gas President at Schneider Electric.
The delivery of the first technical building for Kaombo project will be early 2016 for a first oil expected in 2017.
