TotalEnergies has determined the size of the first floating production, storage and offloading vessel it will need to exploit its massive Venus oil discovery off the coast of Namibia, but is still grappling with the costly problem of how best to manage the associated gas, according to the company's top managers.

According to information published on Friday, October 4, the French oil major operating this project forecasts a daily production of 160,000 barrels of crude oil for some 500 million cubic feet of natural gas.

This daily production will be ensured via a floating production, storage and unloading unit (FPSO). For the time being, no technical details have been communicated concerning the technical specifications of the planned building, much less on the construction schedule.

Based on information previously published by project stakeholders, we know that the project should be designed to withstand, over the long term, the deep conditions of the Venus oil field and the climatic difficulties posed on the high seas.

According to WoodMac, future oil production in Namibia, through the Orange Basin, which hosts, in addition to Venus, Shell's Graff field and the Mopane discovery by Galp, could “exceed 500,000 barrels per day within ten years and continue to grow thereafter”.

According to the firm's projections, this should involve an investment of “4 billion dollars per year over the first half of the next decade.”