In March 2006, ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL) started production from the world-class Erha deepwater development located in Oil Mining License (OML) 133, approximately 97 kilometers offshore Nigeria in 1200 meters of water.  The development includes Erha and Erha North, a satellite development that came on-stream in September 2006.  Erha North was online within 30 months of discovery, setting a Nigeria deepwater record.  This is EEPNL’s first operated production from Nigeria’s deepwater OML 133 with a total production capacity of 210,000 barrels per day.

The Erha and Erha North developments consist of 32 subsea wells tied to a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.  A single-point mooring buoy, one of the world’s largest, is used for crude carrier docking and product transfer.  This talk will provide an overview of the projects from their development planning stages through to start-up.  The execution plan included sequential start-up of three drill centers managed simultaneously with a two rig development drilling program and ongoing production operations.  This talk will address the project management aspects of the developments and highlight some of the unique aspects, accomplishments, and challenges of these projects.    

EEPNL is the operator of the Erha and Erha North developments and has a 56.25% participating interest in OML 133, with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company holding the remaining 43.75 percent.