TPAO turns to platforms for next phase of Black Sea Sakariya project
TPAO has revised its forward plans for the deepwater Sakariya gas field in the Turkish sector of the Black Sea, according to Wood Mackenzie’s latest annual Global Upstream update.
Despite drilling additional wells, production has not ramped up as expected from the initial subsea-beach development, said Fraser Mackay, WoodMac's head of Upstream Analysis.
Following a re-think, TPAO has acquired the FPSO BW Opportunity and plans to install it at the field alongside a newbuild FPU.
The state-owned company will likely award contracts for the phase 2B development later this year, including construction and installation of the FPU construction and installation. While the revisions will raise the overall project costs, Fraser noted, they will also provide more processing capacity, allowing TPAO to secure the volumes needed for Turkey’s domestic market.
Elsewhere, the review highlights five main deals for deepwater oil and gas supply in Nigeria involving ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies with NNPC, following reviews by the Nigerian government.
The deals have either been completed or approved by the government and should be formalized during the current quarter.
Globally, sanctioned capex for new oil and gas projects totaled an estimated $80 billion last year, the review found, covering less than 10 Bboe of new production. Delayed decisions by ADNOC and political issues in Mozambique and the UK extended some project timelines.
Exploration in 2024 delivered the lowest number of discoveries (20) in a decade, with only a small proportion of the volumes found deemed commercial or viable.
However, Wood Mackenzie expects higher exploration activity this year, notably in high-impact deepwater plays such as Namibia and the Eastern Mediterranean.
