French major TotalEnergies and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have started oil production in the Ikile field, located approximately 20km offshore Nigeria, as part of the Oil Mining Lease (OML99).
The project will produce 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day by the end of 2022, helping the west African energy giant revitalize its oil sector following a decline in output in the past two years due to issues including the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry, the Russian-Ukraine war and declining investments in exploration as well as natural declines in legacy projects.
Some 95% of hours were worked locally to bring the project online in line with efforts by the Nigerian government to enhance local content development across the hydrocarbons sector.
With calls for the oil and gas industry to intensify carbon emissions reduction mechanisms intensifying, TotalEnergies and NNPC say the project is environmentally-friendly with an emissions rate estimated at less than than 4kg CO2e/boe.
To reduce the project’s cost, the two operators have attached the project to the existing Amenam processing, storage and distribution facility via a 14km pipeline.
“By tapping discoveries close to existing facilities, this project fits the Company’s strategy of focusing on low-cost and low-emission oil projects,” said Henri-Max Ndong-Nzue, Senior Vice President Africa, Exploration and Production at TotalEnergies.
The milestone comes at a time Europe is seeking to accelerate its energy ties with Russia to meet growing oil and gas demand following disruptions to existing energy trading deals with Russia due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
