“When the capacity of the FPSO reaches a certain level, we have to off take or lift to make room for production to continue, but we couldn’t do that twice because of the challenge with the turret bearing,” it said.
It added, “during the planned shutdown, there will be no oil and gas production. But by the time we are done with the planned shutdown, lifting will resume. We are planning to recommence liftings towards the end of the shutdown once the new operating procedures and vessels are in place. Tullow’s 2016 production guidance is unaffected.”
An earlier statement by the company explained that new procedures were required following deterioration in the condition of the turret bearing ahead of a planned two week shut-down for maintenance scheduled to begin on 20th March and oil production and gas export would continue until the planned shutdown begins.
Turret bearing challenge
The company, deferred liftings from the Jubilee field as a result of a fault with the turret bearing on the FPSO vessel Kwame Nkrumah.
The challenge came ahead of a planned two-week maintenance programme on the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah from March 20, and was to last for 14 days.
The source explained that “what we said was that we have deferred lifting until the end of the shutdown, and the next scheduled lifting will be after the end of the shutdown.”
It also added that, “the examination going on with the turret bearing takes a long time, so we have to wait until that examination process is completed, then we will be able to tell whether the challenge is still there or not.”
FPSO Kwame Nkrumah
The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah is capable of processing more than 120,000 barrels of oil per day, and injecting more than 230,000 barrels of water per day and 160 MMscfd of produced gas. It is designed to remain on the field for up to 20 years.
Tullow is the operator of the Jubilee field with 35.48 per cent interest. Tullow’s partners are Kosmos and Anadarko, each with 24.08 per cent interest, and GNPC and Petro SA with 13.64 per cent and 2.73 per cent interest, respectively.
