SBM Offshore this morming received formal Production Readiness Notice (PRN) for N'Goma FPSO from client Eni, operator of Block 15/06 on behalf of the Joint Venture which also includes Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção, SSI Fifteen Limited and Falcon Oil Holding Angola SA.  Following successful first oil in November 2014 and completion of the 72 hour continuous production test in early December 2014, PRN goes into effect retroactively to November 28, 2014 and the vessel is on hire from that date onwards.  The FPSO will operate under a twelve year lease and operate contract with Eni Angola S.p.A on Block 15/06, West Hub, offshore Angola.

The FPSO is owned by Sonasing and operated by OPS, a Joint Venture company formed by SBM Offshore (50%) and Sonangol (50%).  N'Goma FPSO was previously on hire as FPSO Xikomba and was disconnected in 2011 from Block 15 offshore Angola after concluding eight years of operations.  SBM Offshore converted FPSO Xikomba, renaming it N'Goma FPSO, at the Keppel shipyard in Singapore before the vessel set sail for the Paenal yard in Angola where it completed the final scope of work on time.

The vessel has 100,000 bpd of oil processing capacity, 115 mmscf/d of gas handling capacity and water injection capacity of 120,000 bpd.