Upstream · Development
Field development
Between discovery and first oil there is a plan: how many wells, where, which facilities, for what production profile and what cost. Field development is the trade that writes that plan, costs it, and gets it approved — it is where a reservoir becomes, or fails to become, an asset.
From model to decision
Everything starts with the reservoir model: the field’s geometry, fluids, pressures, drive mechanism, calibrated on existing wells and seismic. On that model, scenarios are simulated — well count and placement, recovery mode, pace — and the one that yields most at least risk is kept. The result is the field development plan (FDP), approved by the State under the petroleum contract.
The steps, in order
- Appraisal — wells and tests that narrow the volume uncertainty.
- Concept studies — several ways to develop, compared on cost and risk.
- Pre-FEED then FEED — basic engineering: facility sizing, costs to ± 15%, schedule.
- Development plan — the binding document: wells, facilities, schedule, local content, HSE.
- Final investment decision — capital is committed; EPC and drilling contracts are signed.
- Execution and first oil — construction, drilling, start-up — then the monitoring that recalibrates the model.
Petroleum economics, or why everything is costed
Each scenario reads as cash flows: investment (capex), operating costs (opex), contract fiscal terms, oil price. The breakeven — the oil price at which the project covers its costs — is the number everyone watches. Our marginal-block and mature-field strategy fits in one line: existing facilities, wells already drilled, low capex — hence a low breakeven, and early production that funds what follows.
What we put in place
Reuse what exists — wells, lines, facilities — before building; modular units when building is needed.
A small, fast first phase that produces and learns; later phases funded by the first.
Recalibrated with every well, every test, every month of production — not frozen at FDP.
Chadian suppliers, the Tchaditude academy, jobs: costed in the FDP, not added afterwards.
Benchmarks
| Milestone | What it fixes | Cost accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Concept studies | the choice of solution | ± 40% |
| FEED | basic engineering | ± 15% |
| FID | capital commitment | ± 10% |
| First oil | start of revenue | — |
Industry orders of magnitude; the petroleum contract sets the documents to be approved.