Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), operator of the Otakikpo Marginal Field, in oil mining lease (OML) 11, Rivers State, said it has secured a $350million financing package for the second phase development of the field.
GEIL said the fund was secured from a consortium of international companies, including an oil services giant, London-based International Bank, prominent crude oil offtaker, and EPIC contractor.With the deal, the Otakikpo field, a crude processing and exporting hub in the Eastern Niger Delta, would unlock the potential of other commercially-stranded marginal fields in the area, GEIL Chairman, Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe, said in a statement.
He said the second phase development involves the drilling of additional wells at the Otakikpo Field, which would significantly increase the field production from the present 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (bopd) to 20,000 bopd, and the expansion of processing facilities from 12,000 to 50,000 bopd to adequately handle production from other fields.
According to him, the project also involves the construction of 1.3 million barrels onshore terminal, and a 20-Kilometer export pipeline and crude oil loading system for efficient export of the expected production.GEIL had earlier secured the approval to construct (APC) for the onshore terminal, and the associated export infrastructure. The onshore terminal will significantly reduce the field production OPEX, increase operational efficiency, improve security and also contribute tremendously to the economy of the local communities.
The onshore terminal is expected to be located in the Atlantic Industrial Park, Ikuru Town, being also facilitated by GEIL, as a gas-powered commercial and high-value proposition anchored on the power to be generated from the field’s gas production.
Adegbulugbe said the deal remains a major milestone in the oil and gas industry particularly for the marginal field coming on the heels of a successful commencement of production in 2017, and recent conclusion of the interpretation of the 3D seismic data acquired by GEIL to maximise the Otakikpo field opportunities.
On gas monetisation, Adegbulugbe was quoted: “We are poised more than ever before to develop the oil and gas field with the Small Scale Gas Utilisation project ( SSGUP), as the backbone of field development activities to ensure compliance with the zero gas flare policy the Federal Government.”
He commended the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), for its prompt support in the conceptual designs and implementation of the projects for the development of the field, adding that the initiative project has the potential to bring over $350million direct foreign investment into the economy and bolster government’s drive for economic growth and investment inflow into Nigeria.
