The tunnel, one and a half kilometers long and 1.8 meters in diameter, for the protection of specific reinforced concrete pipes, is being drilled from Sereia Beach and will connect the shallow water fields of Quiluma and Maboqueiro, over a distance of 46 kilometers.
The drilling is part of the current stage of the Quiluma and Motoqueiro Project, launched in July 2022 by Azule Energy and its associates. The director of Azule Energy, Alberto Lancia, said that the transportation of Non-Associated Gas from the Quilume and Maboqueiro fields to the sea is scheduled for 2027, with a projected production of 400 million cubic feet of gas per year.
According to Alberto Lancia, this is a Non-Associated Gas exploration project (natural gas that is dissociated from oil and water in porous rocks and subsoil). He assured that the project costs are budgeted at 24 billion dollars and completion is expected for next year.
The project is expected to create more than three thousand jobs. For the successful implementation of the project, the companies Bessac and Sapura Energy are also involved, whose tasks are to ensure the connection of the tunnel between the sea and land.
The project director, Ciryl Penot, assured that the tunnel drilling equipment is state-of-the-art and has strong resilience to function under adverse conditions.
“It is an ambitious and complex project. It consists of 1,156 meters of tunnel built using the micro-tunneling technique, known as Pipe Jacking,” he said.
The deputy administrator of Soyo municipality, Adelino Kai, who witnessed the start of the works, stated that with the completion of the project, the locality in particular, and Zaire province in general, will take an important step in the socio-economic sector and in generating employment for young people.
The New Gas Consortium Project (NCG) includes the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), Azule Energy, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC), Sonangol and Total Energies.
