Image: First E&P
Nigeria’s First Exploration and Petroleum (E&P) Development Company, in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has started oil production from the Anyala West field, located in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 83 and 85, offshore Nigeria.
The Anyala-Madu field development project is expected to produce 142 million barrels of oil and 98 billion standard cubic feet of gas during the first phase. According to First E&P, a total of seven development wells in OML 83, as approved by the Department of Petroleum Resources, have been planned in the first phase.
The wells will be developed along with the nearby Madu field in OML 85 and will be jointly produced in the Abigail-Joseph floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO). The FPSO has a storage capacity of 700,000 barrels, an oil processing capacity of 60,000 barrels of oil per day and can store gas at a capacity of 39 million standard cubic feet per day.
“The project, at its peak production, will produce about 60,000 barrels of oil per day, unlock over 300 million barrels of crude oil recoverable reserves and create value of over $8bn for the FGN [Federal Government of Nigeria] over the total lifespan of all phases of the project,” First E&P said in a statement.
First E&P has chartered the Abigail-Joseph FPSO on a firm seven-year deal with options to extend until 2035. In 2019, the firm portion of the contract negotiated was estimated at around $901 million. The FPSO was formerly stationed at the Olowi field in Gabon.
“The success of this project is not only a landmark achievement for us at NNPC and our JV partner, First E&P but also a remarkable accomplishment for Nigeria. It is a project that will go a long way in helping us achieve our strategic objective of 3 million barrels of oil per day by 2023,” said Alhaji Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of NNPC.