•Targets 300,000 barrel per day
The NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL), a Subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has announced take over of 100 per cent ownership of eight Oil Mining Leases in its custody, such as OML13, OML119 and the controversial OML11.
Recall that OML11 had been marred in controversy since 1993, leading to the execution of renowned environmentalist and playwright, Ken Saro Wiwa and 12 other Ogoni activists in 1995 by the Federal Government.
It is against this backdrop that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) lost the rights to renew the OML11 license at the Supreme Court in 2022.
The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) is rebranded as the exploration and production arm of NNPC Limited, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
Managing Director of NEPL, Mohammad Ali Zarah, who stated this development at the 4th Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair, 2023, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, explained that there are plans to complete the drilling of over 60 oil wells between now and 2024.
Represented by the Executive Director, Central Technical Division, NEPL, Ismail U. Mohammed, the company’s boss disclosed that the oil firm was targeting to produce over 300,000 barrels per day of crude within its assets, domiciled in the six states of the South-South.
On upstream opportunities, he said that NEPL has a reserve of over 6 billion barrels of crude oil within its assets, comprising 30 OMLs and OPLs, eight of which are being operated 100 per cent by the company, while twenty two others are in a joint venture operation with other firms.
Zarah noted that the vision of the company is to be the leading exploration and production firm with significant global presence, even as it, hitherto, was operating in Equatorial Guinea, assuring that it will continue to spread.
He said: “We are making hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, and our target this year is 300,000 barrels per day and have over 30 OMLs and OPLs within the South South. We are operating in Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Edo State, where our head office is located.”
