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BP gas project in Egypt to be ready in two years

25 May 2023

The Raven Infills project to tie back two gas wells in Egypt’s West Nile Delta block is expected to be completed within two years of the contract award, according to industry sources.

On 3 May, it was announced that the contract for the project had been awarded to Subsea Integration Alliance by UK-based BP and its joint-venture partner Wintershall Dea.

Subsea Integration Alliance is a non-incorporated strategic global alliance between Subsea7 and OneSubsea.

“This is a fast-track project and that means we will see it executed very quickly,” said one source. “It is likely to be fully commissioned within two years.”

The contract is estimated to be worth $200m and, in a statement, Subsea7 described it as “substantial”.

The scope includes the engineering, procurement, transport and installation of approximately six kilometres of flexible pipes, umbilicals and associated subsea structures in water depths of around 800 metres.

Project management and engineering have commenced and will be managed from Subsea7 offices in France, the UK and Portugal.

When the contract was awarded, Olivier Blaringhem, Subsea Integration Alliance CEO, said: “This award further solidifies our ongoing partnership with BP in Egypt.

“Through our early collaboration on this project, BP and Subsea Integration Alliance have worked together to develop an optimised solution for the Raven field, showcasing our effective teamwork.”

Franck Louvety, the Africa, Middle East and Caspian vice-president of Subsea7, said: “We are excited to strengthen our presence in Egypt and continue to build on our longstanding and successful relationship with BP.

“We look forward to working with BP to deliver the project successfully and safely while maximising the client’s production objectives.”

In January, MEED revealed that technical and commercial bids by contractors were submitted in late December 2022.

BP started gas production from the Raven field in April 2021, saying the field initially produced about 600 million standard cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas.

In November, BP said it was producing around 900 million cf/d of gas from the asset and 27,000 barrels a day (b/d) of condensates.

The Raven gas field was brought online as part of the West Nile Delta (WND) project off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

The $9bn WND development comprises five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean deepwater offshore concession blocks in the Mediterranean Sea.

The field was originally expected to come online in October 2019, but corrosion issues were noticed during the commissioning process.

Bringing Raven online was part of the third stage of the WND development to develop 5 trillion cubic feet of gas resources and 55 million barrels of condensates from two BP-operated offshore concession blocks.

The original Raven project included eight wells and was developed as a deepwater long-distance tie-back to shore, where a new onshore plant was located.

The plans for further development of the Raven field have been accelerated due to higher energy prices and increased demand for gas from European nations as they seek alternatives to Russian imports.

Exploration blocks

In November, BP announced that it had been awarded new exploration blocks in Egypt’s Offshore Nile Delta.

One of these was the Northwest Abu Qir Offshore Area.

BP is now the operator of this block, holding an 82.75 per cent stake, while Germany’s Wintershall Dea has the other 17.25 per cent.

The block is located west of the North King Mariout block, in which BP has a 100 per cent stake. It is located north of the Raven field.

The Northwest Abu Qir offshore area covers approximately 1,038 square kilometres with water depths between 600 and 1,600 metres.

The second block it was awarded in November was the Bellatrix-Seti East block. This is operated by Italy’s Eni, which holds a 50 per cent stake. BP also has a 50 per cent stake in the block, located west of the Atoll field and North Tabya blocks.

It covers an area of approximately 3,440 sq km with water depths between 100 and 1,200 metres.

BP says it has invested more than $35bn in Egypt over the past 60 years.

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Wil Crisp

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