Rabi Oil Field

Summary Information

• Operator: Shell
• Country: Gabon
• Location: Two degrees south of the equator in a remote, sparsely inhabited part of the primary rain forest of equatorial Africa, some 140 km south of Port-Gentil, the economic capital of Gabon
• Production start: 1989
• Partners: Total
• Type: Rabi Light Crude Oil
• Estimated Reserves:
• Production Volume: 23,000 bbl/d in 2010 ( 217,000 bbl/d at its peak in 1997)

+++ Description

• A Giant Oil Field in a Rift Basin, Onshore Gabon
• The oil is pumped to the coast via the Rabi to Gamba Crude Pipeline

+++ Contractors

• **Mott MacDonald:** Installation of a gas injection system to maintain production despite depletion

+++ History

• 1985 - The Rabi-Kounga Field discovered by Shell
• 1989 - The Field came on stream in January
• 2003 - TotalFinaElf announced the signature of an exploration and production sharing contract (ESPC) to replace the concession agreement
• 2009 - Shell increased it share from 44.3% to 94.3% in a Hess asset swap
• 2015 - Wood group awarded engineering, construction, maintenance contract

+++ Geology

• The hydrocarbons are contained within the highly permeable sands of the Gamba and Dentale formations which were deposited in a rift basin of early Cretaceous age, the Dianongo Basin. Trapping is provided by structural closure at the base of the Aptian Ezanga salt.

+++ Links

1. Mott MacDonald, Gas Reinjection, Rabi Field
2. Discovery and Development of the Rabi-Kounga Field: a Giant Oil Field in a Rift Basin, Onshore Gabon
3. Shell in strategic asset swap with Hess
4. Gabon: TotalFinaElf Announces the Signature of the Extension of the Rabi-Kounga License with Gabonese Republic
5. Wood Group wins major Shell Gabon contract