Total (operator, 53.5%) announces an oil find in the Moho-Bilondo exploration permit, located around 80 kilometres offshore the Republic of the Congo, in water depths ranging from 600 to 900 metres.

Drilled to a total vertical depth of 2,269 metres, the Mobi Marine 2 well identified two new oil-bearing structures at the base of the Upper Miocene over a combined thickness of around 30 metres. This discovery is the first step in a process designed to add further reserves to the current Phase 1 development of Moho Bilondo. The new resources are being appraised and a development plan is being prepared.

Launched in late August 2005, the initial Phase 1 development plan for the Moho Bilondo project comprises 12 subsea wells tied back to a floating production unit (FPU) whose output—around 90,000 barrels per day at peak—will be exported to the Djéno terminal. The field is scheduled to come on stream in 2008.

Total E&P Congo’s partners in Moho-Bilondo are Chevron Overseas Congo Ltd. (31.5%) and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC - 15%).