Mossel Bay hits supply-side problems

摘要

The Mossel Bay facility in South Africa, operated by PetroSA using Sasol technology, has run into problems with its supply of gas, leading it to operate at reduced capacity. The gas is sourced from the offshore FA, EM and South Coast fields, which are expected to end plateau production in 2010. They currently produce 170 MMcfd of gas and 5,000 b/d of condensate, but the plant requires 200 MMcfd gas and a further 7,000 b/d of condensate to produce 35,000 b/d of product. rnThe company is looking at recovering associated gas from the decommissioned Sable oil field that has been reinjected over the field's lifetime to enhance oil recovery. Another possibility is developing the FO gas field. FO lies in deeper water to the west of the FA and EM fields, and is a tighter formation, making recovery too costly unless E&P costs fall. A third option actively being considered is to bring in LNG and create an offshore mooring for vessels that could deliver the regasified LNG direct into the current offshore gas gathering system. This looks like being the interim solution ahead of the development of the FO field, which is seen as some five years off.