France’s Total has made a final investment decision for the €1.6 billion (US $1.94 billion) Tempa Rossa field in the Basilicata region onshore southern Italy.

The field is operated by Total with a 75% interest, with its partner being Shell (25%). Tempa Rossa is scheduled to come onstream early in 2016 and is planned to produce 50,000 b/d of oil at plateau, as well as 230 Mcm/d of natural gas and 240 metric tons of LPG. This will directly boost Italy’s oil production by nearly 40% as a result.

The field is located in the southern Apennines mountain region at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,281 ft). Lying more than 4,000 m (13,124 ft) beneath the surface, the field will be produced via eight wells, six of which have already been drilled.

“Development of the Tempa Rossa field is a significant achievement for Total. It is one more in a long line of projects whose start-up will sustain the group’s production growth in the next few years,” said Yves-Louis Darricarrère, president of Total E&P. “The field has significant potential and will make a strategic contribution to regional economic development.”
The project consists of building a production and processing center for the oil and gas, an LPG storage center, and a tie-in to the Val d’Agri-Taranto pipeline, which will carry the oil to the Taranto refinery in the Apulia region, from which it will be exported. The capacity of the oil pipeline and the refinery’s tank farm and port terminal will be expanded to handle the increase.