Total SA said on Wednesday it had started production from the Egina oilfield off Nigeria’s coast, part of a shift by the French energy firm toward deep water oil and gas projects to drive its cash flow.

Output from Egina, which is located in waters about 1,600 meters (5,250 ft) deep, is expected to plateau at 200,000 barrels per day of oil, Total said. That rate is equivalent to about 10 per cent of Nigeria’s current production.

“Egina will significantly boost the group’s production and cash flow from 2019 onward, and benefit from our strong cost reduction efforts in Nigeria where we have reduced our operating costs by 40 percent over the last four years,” Total’s head of exploration and production, Arnaud Breuillac, said.

Total is betting on profitable deep water oil and gas fields in Sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil and the U.S. Gulf area. In Africa, the company is ramping up deep water projects in the Republic of Congo and Angola.

Total forecasts output from deep water projects will reach 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020 and account for more than 35 percent of cash flow in coming years, compared with about 15 percent now.

Total also said it would take a decision this year on whether to invest in developing the Preowei field, located in the same block as the Egina field.

Total has for almost a decade been extracting oil from a third field in the block, Akpo. It holds a 24 percent stake in the block’s lease and is the operator. Its partners are state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp, China’s CNOOC, Brazil’s Petrobras and private Nigerian firm Sapetro.

The French company is one of the strongest players in African oil, holding the largest proven reserves on the continent among the world’s top oil companies.

REUTERS