Photo caption: Bonga Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel
By Emeka Ugwuanyi
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) has commenced a turnaround maintenance activity at the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. The exercise is a statutory and integrity assurance programme aimed at extending the life of the facility.
“The schedule maintenance activity is designed to ensure the FPSO continues to operate safely and efficiently for the next 15 years, while reducing unplanned deferments and strengthening the asset’s overall resilience,” said SNEPCo Managing Director, Ronald Adams. “We expect to resume operations in March following the completion of the turnaround.”
The scope of work includes statutory inspections, certification and regulatory compliance checks, major asset -integrity upgrades as well as engineering modifications to improve long-term operations and subsea assurance activities.
The FPSO located approximately 120 km offshore in water depths exceeding 1,000 meters, has the capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Maintaining the integrity of this critical national asset is essential to supporting stable production and Nigeria’s wider energy, security and revenue objectives.
This year’s turnaround comes at a strategic moment for SNEPCo and its co‑venture partners. In 2024, the partners took Final Investment Decision on Bonga North, a subsea tie‑back development that will depend on the reliability and enhanced capacity of the Bonga FPSO. A successful turnaround maintenance is therefore essential to preparing the facility for the additional volumes and operational demands associated with the new development.
The last turnaround maintenance activity on the FPSO took place in October 2022. On February 1 the following year, the asset delivered its 1 billionth barrel of oil since production commenced in 2005.
SNEPCo operates the Bonga field in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited, under a Production Sharing Contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
