By Halimah Olamide
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd has announced the commencement of oil production from the Akpo West Field.
The company said this is to optimise production from the nation’s oil and gas assets, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive.
A statement by Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Chief Communication Officer of the NNPC, he said the milestone, “which is the result of meticulous planning, strategic collaboration, and unwavering dedication from all stakeholders involved in the project, will add 14,000 barrels per day condensate to the nation’s production.”
He said this will be followed up by the production of about 4million cubic meters of gas per day by 2028.
“The development of Akpo West which is on Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 2 (formerly OML 130) leverages the existing Akpo Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility via a subsea tie-back to keep costs low and minimize greenhouse gas emissions,” Soneye added
He explained that the milestone was enabled by the strategic leadership of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr. Mele Kyari, and the Upstream Directorate of the NNPC Ltd whose support played no small role in propelling the operators to actualise the short- and mid-term hydrocarbon production goal of the President Tinubu administration.
“Located 135 kilometres offshore, Akpo West is one of the discoveries on PML 2 with proximity to the Akpo main which started up in 2009 and produced 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023.
PML 2 is operated by TotalEnergies with a 24% interest, in partnership with CNOOC (45%), Sapetro (15%), Prime 130 (16%), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd as the concessionaire of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC).”