The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its Joint Venture partner in OML 85, First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited (First E&P), have commenced oil production from the asset also known as Madu Field.
Production from the field which is located in shallow waters offshore Bayelsa State and operated by First E&P is expected to be at an average of 20,000 barrels per day.
In a statement signed by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, he said, the achievement is a testament to the commitment of President Bola Tinubu administration to optimise production from the nation’s oil and gas assets through the provision of enabling environment for existing and prospective investors.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, described the commencement of oil production at the Madu Field, a significant milestone that will contribute to the larger goal of meeting the production required to drive revenue growth and boost the nation’s economy.
Kyari, while commending stakeholders for their support, also explained that the addition of 20,000 barrels per day by an indigenous oil player signals the commitment of stakeholders to achieving economic development for Nigeria
The Final Investment Decision (FID) on the development of the Madu Field and a sister field, Anyala, was taken by the NNPC Ltd/First E&P JV in 2018.
Production from the Madu Field will be processed at the JV’s Abigail-Joseph Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Unit, which has a crude oil storage capacity of up 800,000 barrels, the corporation stated.
The Federal Government has been making efforts to ramp up crude oil production in Nigeria by addressing issues of oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, met to come up with additional strategies to halt crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
Lokpobiri, who played host to the Defence Chief in his office in Abuja, said the move would enable the Federal Government to increase crude oil production, oil revenue, address foreign exchange issues, and boost the overall economy.
The Minister said security and investment in its oil assets usually get top priority globally and expressed optimism that the Defence Chief, who is very familiar with the region, would help address the situation.
By the time we increase production, we will be able to take care of the feedstock needed by Dangote Refinery, Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, and modular refineries that we have so that we can have full benefit across the entire value chain, Lokpobiri stated.
The Chief of Defence Staff stated that crude oil being Nigeria’s economic mainstay, deserves all the military support it needs.
We know all the challenges that we are facing, some of them directly, some indirectly, but we assure you that the Armed Forces of Nigeria are fully in support of you and your ministry.
We will continue to provide the necessary support to ensure that the country benefits from the God-given resources that we have, Musa stated.
Nigeria’s 2024 budget set a crude oil production benchmark of 1.78 million barrels per day. This figure includes condensate along with crude oil.
But data from the latest April 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries showed that Nigeria’s crude oil production (excluding condensates) witnessed the second consecutive monthly decline since the beginning of this year, as it dropped to 1.231 million barrels per day in March.
