French supermajor TotalEnergies announced on Friday the start of natural gas production from the Fenix gas field offshore in southern Argentina.
The Fenix field has been developed to have a production capacity of 10 million cubic meters per day, or 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, (boe/d). The field, 60 km (37 miles) off the coast of Tierra del Fuego in Southern Argentina, consists of a new unmanned platform and is connected to the existing facilities at the Cuenca Marina Austral 1 (CMA-1) concession, which TotalEnergies operates.
The natural gas produced at Fenix is sent through a subsea pipeline to the TotalEnergies-operated Véga Pléyade platform and is subsequently treated onshore at the Río Cullen and Cañadon Alfa facilities, which are also operated by the French company.
According to TotalEnergies, Fenix is a low-cost, low-emissions development, with a carbon intensity of 9 kg CO2e/boe, which uses existing infrastructure.“Fenix will contribute to maintaining our gas production plateau in Tierra del Fuego and ensure a reliable supply to the Argentinean gas market,” said Javier Rielo, Senior Vice President Americas, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.
“With its low break-even and low carbon intensity, Fenix perfectly matches the Company’s low-cost and low-emission strategy,” Rielo added.
TotalEnergies has been operating in Argentina since 1978, and has interests offshore, onshore, and in the Neuquen province, home to the Vaca Muertra shale.
Argentina plans to raise oil and gas output and exports from Vaca Muerta in the coming years.
Supertankers could begin docking in Argentina to load oil from the country’s shale patch after a pipeline is set to connect Vaca Muerta with a terminal at Punta Colorada port capable of handling the so-called very large crude carriers (VLCCs).
Argentina is also moving a step closer to exporting LNG and monetizing its huge resource in Vaca Muerta after maritime LNG infrastructure firm Golar LNG signed a 20-year deal with Pan American Energy (PAE) for the deployment of a Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) vessel in Argentina.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Image (Credit: Reuters)
