NNPC boosting crude oil production by 40,000 bpd from OML 13 in 2022 ─Official

*In view of the progress made in drilling activities, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Limited is firmly on track to deliver first oil at the end of first quarter of 2022, says Engr. Ahmed Modibo, Manager of OML 13

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Limited, one of the upstream subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has disclosed the firm will enlarge the country’s crude oil production by 40,000 supplementary barrels of oil per day (bpd) from its Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13 in 2022.

Engr. Ahmed Modibo, Manager, OML 13, said the first oil of 25,000 barrels would be delivered by the end of first quarter of 2022, and the production would subsequently peak at 40,000 bpd by the end of this year, agency report stated.

Modibbo also noted: “NPDC has a programme schedule, and so far the drilling activity is progressing accordingly.

“Based on progress made so far, NPDC is firmly on track to deliver first oil at the end of first quarter of 2022.”

ConsumerConnect reports OML 13 is a large block in Akwa Ibom State in the South-East of the country, reported to hold in-place volumes of over 900 million barrels of oil and 5 TCF of gas.

OML 13 was first operated by Shell until 1983 when it was decommissioned, but has been dormant since its main field Utapate ceased in 1995, according to report.

The asset has 14 fields, out of which one was fully developed by its former operator, whereas three of the fields are farmed out to marginal operators.

The acreage has a large crude oil and gas reserve.

The Federal Government, in 2017, awarded the oil facility to the NPDC, but by the time the company re-entered the asset, it had been completely vandalised by third parties, report said.

Fossil fuels will remain relevant, significant ─Expert

In a related development, Uche Uwaleke, a Professor of Capital Market at the Nasarawa State University, has urged investors to utilise the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to invest in the Nigeria petroleum industry.

Prof. Uwaleke’s admonition apparently call came against the backdrop of the industry stakeholders’ earlier call for energy transition, which dominated discourses in the country’s oil and gas sector for for most of 2021.

According to the don, though energy transition is currently attracting global attention which has led International Oil Companies (IOCs) to reduce investments in oil exploration, fossil fuels would remain relevant and important for a long time to come.

Prof. Uwaleke further submitted that the country would need the oil revenue from the petroleum industry to develop other sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Post-PIA: NPSC urged to boost revenue, ensure cost optimisation

As a strategy to boost revenue in the oil and gas industry, the NNPC has urged the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) Limited to explore fresh ways of jacking up its revenue generation and ensure cost optimisation drive.

Engr. Adeyemi Adetunji, Group Executive Director, Downstream of NNPC, said this at the recent retreat organised by NPSC.

Engr. Adetunji restated the need for the company to align itself with the post-PIA NNPC in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

Engr. Mansur Sambo, Managing Director of the company, in his remarks earlier, said the aim of the retreat was to identify key challenges, best possible solutions, and strategies to make NPSC viable and sustainable in a PIA-driven era.

The NPSC Managing Director also explained that the essence of bringing together all managers across the subsidiary was to identify the necessary steps that would reactivate and revitalise the revenue drivers as well as optimise the company’s operational cost.

Sambo, therefore, charged the managers to be bold in making necessary business decisions.

He as well assured them of the Management’s commitment and support towards the delivery of the company’s mandates to grow and sustain its business in Nigeria.