The Kuito Oil Field is located offshore Cabinda, Angola, in Block 14, at an average water depth of approximately 400 meters.
Discovery and Development
The field was discovered in April 1997 by Chevron's Angolan subsidiary, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (CABGOC).
Development contracts were awarded in January 1998, with the final contract for the expanded FPSO project awarded in September 1998.
Operator and Partners
The operator of the Kuito Oil Field is Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation.
The partners include Sonangol, Agip (now Eni), Total, and Petrogal. As of recent data, the ownership structure is: Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (31.0%), Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (20.0%), Somoil (29.0%), and Eni S.P.A. (20.0%).
Production
The field began commercial production on December 15, 1999, marking the first deepwater oil production in Angola.
Peak production is estimated at 100,000 barrels per day (b/d).
The field also includes gas injection and lift facilities, with a gas injection rate of 16 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) and a gas lift rate of 36 MMcf/d.
Infrastructure
The production is facilitated through a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which was converted from the VLCC Bay Ridge tanker in 14 months.
The FPSO has a storage capacity of 1.4 million barrels, an export rate of 35,000 barrels per hour, and is connected to a loading buoy via flexible flowlines.
The underwater facilities include subsea production wells, manifolds, and water injection systems. Phase 1A included 12 producing wells and one gas-injection well, while Phase 1B added five water-injection wells and Phase 1C included additional subsea production and injection facilities.
Phased Development
The development was carried out in phases:
Phase 1A: Included the FPSO, 12 producing wells, an oil export system, and one gas-injection well.
Phase 1B: Added water injection facilities, including five water-injection wells and a separate subsea injection manifold.
Phase 1C: Included a separate subsea production manifold, flowlines, umbilicals, seven producing wells, and four water-injection wells.
Contractors and Installation
Key contractors involved in the project include:
SBM Offshore: Provision of the FPSO.
Asea Brown Boveri and Coflexip Stena Offshore: Sub-sea wellheads and piping.
Sedco-Forex: Drilling and completion.
The installation was carried out efficiently, with offshore operations beginning in September 1999 and completed by December 1, 1999, ahead of schedule.
Reserves
The estimated oil reserves of the Kuito Oil Field are approximately 1004.21 million barrels as of 2018.
Significance
The Kuito Oil Field marks a significant milestone in Angola's deepwater oil production, achieving first oil just over 2.5 years after discovery and within budget.
It is an important step in the strategic development of Angola's deepwater resources.