Dalia-Camelia

Location and Geology

The Dalia-Camelia Oil Project is situated 135 kilometres (84 miles) offshore from Cabinda, Angola, in water depths ranging between 1,200 and 1,500 metres (3,900 and 4,900 feet).
The reservoirs were formed more than 25 million years ago through the accumulation of sediment at the mouth of the Congo River. They lie approximately 800 metres (2,600 feet) below the seabed.

The Dalia field was discovered in September 1997, and production began in December 2006.
The project includes the Dalia field and the adjacent Camelia reservoir, which are part of the larger Dalia-Camelia complex.

The concessionaire for Block 17 is Sonangol. The operator is TotalEnergies (previously Total S.A.), which holds a 40% interest in the block. Other partners include Equinor (22.16%), Esso Exploration Angola (block 17) Ltd (19%), Azule Energy (15.84%), and other minor stakeholders (10%).

The project utilizes a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel built in South Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries. The FPSO has dimensions of 300 metres (980 feet) in length, 60 metres (200 feet) in breadth, and 32 metres (105 feet) in height. It is equipped with 29,400 tonnes of processing facilities.
The FPSO has a processing capacity of 240,000 barrels per day (38,000 m³/d) and a storage capacity of 2 million barrels (320×10³ m³) of oil. It also features a water injection capacity of 405,000 barrels per day (64,400 m³/d), a water treatment capacity of 265,000 barrels per day (42,100 m³/d), and a gas compression capacity of 8 million standard cubic feet per day (230,000 m³/d).

The Dalia subsea production system includes 67 wells, comprising 34 production wells, 30 water injection wells, and 3 gas injection wells. These wells are highly deviated, almost horizontal in the reservoirs, and utilize horizontal Christmas trees to allow drilling through them.
The wells were drilled using two rigs, Pride Africa and Pride Angola, over an initial 18-month period requiring approximately 2,500 days of drilling.

The reservoirs consist of high-permeability sandstones with an average permeability greater than 1 darcy. The oil is medium-viscosity, ranging between 21° and 23° API, and has a viscosity of 1 to 11 centipoise under reservoir conditions. The reservoir temperature is between 45°C and 50°C, and the pressure ranges from 215 to 235 bar.

The Dalia field is projected to contain approximately 1 billion barrels (160×10⁶ m³) of recoverable crude oil. The combined Dalia-Camelia project has reserves estimated at around 1.0995 billion barrels as of 2018.
Peak production is expected to be around 240,000 barrels per day (38,000 m³/d). Historical production rates include 87.6 million barrels per year in 2006 and 73 million barrels per year in 2015 and 2023.

Associated gas is not flared but reinjected into the reservoirs to maintain field pressure, aligning with more sustainable operational practices.
The project also includes the use of polymer injection as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) method, which was initiated in 2010 to address the medium-viscosity oil and improve recovery rates.

The development of the Dalia project represents an estimated investment of over $4 billion, making it one of the largest deep-offshore developments globally.