Moho-Bilondo: Republic of the Congo’s Offshore Oil Wealth

The Republic of the Congo is a land wealthy in natural resources. It has vast quantities of gold and copper.  In the interior, mines cut deep into the earth for iron ore and phosphate. Diamonds, lead, zinc, potash and magnesium too are found in the soil beneath the Congo. Then there is, of course, its petroleum reserves—the black gold that makes the world turn. But not all of its earthly riches are on land. Since 2008, the Republic of the Congo has ventured out into the ocean, establishing state-of-the-art offshore platforms that will bring Congo’s infrastructure into modernity.

The Moho-Bilondo oil field was first commissioned in April 2008, becoming the first ultra deepwater offshore field for the Republic of the Congo. Though the commission did not occur until 2008, the first oil reservoirs were discovered as far back as 1995. That one was named Bilondo while the second reservoir—Mobim—was discovered in August 2004. Geologists discovered the third and fourth ones—named Moho Nord Marine 1 and 2, and Moho Nord Marine 3 respectively—in 2007 and 2008. Drilling on the first wells began back in 2001, where the first well was drilled to a total depth of 2,645 meters. The fourth reservoir, Moho Nord Marine 3, was drilled to a depth of 2,300 meters in November 2008, producing some 3,000 barrels of oil a day. Then engineers discovered a fifth reservoir in 2009 and subsequently named Moho Nord Marine 4.

Ownership of the oil is split up between a number of oil companies. French oil company Total, operating through its Congolese subsidiary Total E&P Congo, holds the majority working interest with 53.5% and is the company that operates the oil field. Chevron has working interests of 31.5% and the Republic of the Congo’s national oil company SNPC has an interest of 15%. In total, 14 wells exploit the Moho-Bilondo oil field, including five producers and three water injectors on Mobim, and four producers and two water injectors on Bilondo. The wells are then tied back to what is called an FPU, or floating production unit. An export pipeline then connects the FPU to a terminal on the Congolese coast at Djeno, nearly 50 miles away. It is an incredibly complex and impressive system, but that only constitutes the first phase.

Construction began on the second phase of the offshore project last year. Titled the Moho Nord Subsea project, this venture is part of the Moho-Bilondo License, but is dedicated to developing the northern part of the oil fields, roughly 46.6 miles off the coast from Pointe Noire. This project alone cost a whopping $10 billion. Oil production is scheduled to begin in 2015, with output projected to reach 140,000 barrels a day by 2017. Oil is an invaluable part of the Republic of the Congo’s economy. President Denis Sassou Nguesso is making excellent use of the Congo’s reserves, utilizing the profits for developing the country’s infrastructure. An economy based solely on the exportation of oil is not sustainable. But a multifaceted and diversified economy, accelerated in the beginning by the profits from oil, certainly is.