Angola’s $6bn Kaminho oil project passes halfway mark

Angola’s approximately $6 billion Kaminho deepwater oil development has passed 50% execution, with production scheduled to begin in 2028, Offshore Energy reported. The project is in Block 20/11, roughly 100 kilometres off the Angolan coast, and is the first major deepwater oil development in the Kwanza Basin. Its export arrangements provide for crude to be stored aboard the FPSO Kaminho before transfer to an oil tanker.

Representatives of TotalEnergies, Petronas, Sonangol and Angola’s National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) visited OneSubsea’s manufacturing facilities in Johor, Malaysia, at the end of September to review progress on the subsea production system. ANPG Administrator Ana Miala led the agency’s delegation, which joined representatives of the Block 20/11 partners and TotalEnergies’ Angolan operations and project management.

The visit confirmed the planned timetable for equipment to start arriving in Angola in 2027, according to Offshore Energy. Before installation offshore, Angolan OneSubsea teams will test the hardware at the company’s facilities in Sonils, Luanda. The manufacturing programme includes 13 subsea Christmas trees, with the review focusing on safety, quality and delivery against the agreed deadlines.

The subsea production system will operate at depths exceeding 1,500 metres. It will link wells in the Cameia reservoir to pipelines carrying hydrocarbons to the FPSO Kaminho, where the production stream will be processed and separated into water, gas and crude oil. The equipment being manufactured in Malaysia forms part of that connection between the reservoir and the floating production facility.

Under the project’s stated operating arrangements, treated water will be returned to the sea in accordance with national and international legislation. All gas will be reinjected into the reservoir, with no routine flaring, while crude will be held in the FPSO’s hull pending export. Offshore Energy reported that the development is expected to encourage further investment in Angola’s frontier Kwanza Basin.