Takula

Takula Oil Field and the Greater Takula Area Profile

Location

The Takula Oil Field is located offshore Cabinda, Angola, approximately 40 km west-northwest of the Malongo terminal. It is situated in Block 0, in water depths ranging from 50 to 75 meters.

Discovery and Development

• The first well in the Takula area was drilled in 1971, which tested oil from the Lower Cretaceous pre-salt Toca carbonates.
• Initial discoveries indicated a horst structure in the lower Congo pre-salt sedimentary section. However, subsequent delineation drilling revealed significant hydrocarbon accumulations in the Cenomanian clastic sediments of the Vermelha Formation.
• The major oil accumulation in the Vermelha Formation was confirmed in 1979, and by 1980, the Vermelha pool, a large rollover anticline, was discovered.
• Additional fields were discovered in the area, including the Wamba field in May 1982 and the Numbi field in August 1982, both of which are part of the Greater Takula area.

Fields Within the Greater Takula Area

The Greater Takula area comprises several fields:

• Takula Field: The largest field, where oil was first discovered in rocks of Barremian age in 1971.
• Wamba Field: Discovered in May 1982, immediately north of the Takula field.
• Numbi Field: Discovered in August 1982, southeast of the Takula field and in pressure communication with the Takula accumulation.
• Some sources also mention a fourth field, Vuko, although this is less frequently detailed.

Geology and Reservoirs

• The oil is predominantly produced from Upper Cretaceous reservoirs, specifically the Cenomanian Vermelha sandstone reservoirs. These reservoirs are a stacked sequence of nearshore sandstones deposited in a coastal environment.
• Additional accumulations are found in the underlying Pinda Formation.

Production

• Production began in 1982, with current total production levels from the Greater Takula area estimated at approximately 200,000 barrels per day of 32° API oil.
• As of 2012, the cumulative production from the Takula Field alone was over 1 billion barrels of oil.
• The field has been in a mature stage of development, with over 250 million barrels of oil produced from an original oil in place (OOIP) estimate of around 3,300 million barrels (or 3.45 billion barrels according to some sources).

Operators and Ownership

• The Takula Field is operated by Chevron, through its subsidiary Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (CABGOC).
• Ownership is shared among Chevron (39.2%), Eni S.P.A. (9.8%), Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (41.0%), and TotalEnergies (10.0%).

Recovery Techniques

• To maintain optimal pressure during production, water-injection technology has been used at the Takula Field since 1990.
• The field has utilized both primary and secondary recovery methods, including waterflooding.

Historical Milestones

• Chevron has been involved in Angola since the 1930s and began exploration and production activities in 1954. The first offshore discovery was made in the Malongo Field in 1966, with first oil production in 1968.
• In 2015, Chevron reached a milestone of 5 billion barrels produced from Blocks 0 and 14, with over a billion barrels coming from the Takula Field.

Current Status

• The Greater Takula area is in a mature stage of development, with ongoing production and optimization efforts.
• Block 0, where the Takula Field is located, has been extended until 2050, and Chevron continues to apply innovative development models, such as the "factory model," to optimize production and reduce costs.