TotalEnergies and its partners have commenced production from the Fenix gas field, which has been developed offshore Argentina with an investment of around $706m.
Situated in Southern Argentina, 60km off the Tierra del Fuego coast, the Fenix field is part of the Cuenca Marina Austral 1 (CMA-1) block. A final investment decision (FID) on the offshore gas project was taken in September 2022.
The Fenix development includes a new unmanned platform, which is located in a water depth of 70m. Connected to the existing CMA-1 facilities, the 4,800-tonne Fenix platform has a production capacity of 10 million cubic meters per day, which is equivalent to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
The project has been developed through the drilling of three horizontal wells from the unmanned platform.
TotalEnergies has an operating stake of 37.5% in the CMA-1 concession, while Harbour Energy and Pan American Energy hold stakes of 37.5% and 25%, respectively. Harbour Energy joined the project through the $11.2bn acquisition of Wintershall Dea’s exploration and production business.
A 35km subsea pipeline transports the gas produced at the Fenix development to the TotalEnergies-operated Véga Pléyade platform. The gas is treated onshore at the Río Cullen and Cañadon Alfa facilities, both of which are also operated by TotalEnergies.
According to TotalEnergies, the Fenix project adopts a low-cost and low-emissions approach to energy production to achieve a carbon intensity of 9kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent. This is largely attributed to its utilisation of existing infrastructure, which minimises environmental impact while optimising operational costs, as per the French energy company.
TotalEnergies Americas exploration and production senior vice president Javier Rielo said: “The start-up of Fenix production safely and ahead of schedule, only two years after FID, demonstrates the capacity of our Company to deliver its projects. Fenix will contribute to maintaining our gas production plateau in Tierra del Fuego and ensure a reliable supply to the Argentinean gas market.
“With its low break-even and low carbon intensity, Fenix perfectly matches the Company’s low-cost and low-emission strategy.”
