Otakikpo Field Offshore Pipeline 80% Completed, Says Lekoil

Africa focused oil and gas exploration and production company with interests in Nigeria and Namibia, Lekoil Limited has announced that the offshore pipeline leading from the storage tanks to the tanker offloading manifold in the Otakikpo oil field is 80 per cent completed.

Otakikpo is sited in a coastal swamp location in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11, adjacent to the shoreline in the south-eastern part of the Niger Delta.

According to the production update issued by the company, crude oil is already flowing at the Otakikpo field to onshore storage tanks, where it will be evacuated upon completion of the offshore pipeline.

“All onshore facilities have been fully commissioned and signed off by the regulators, and the offshore pipeline leading from the storage tanks to the tanker offloading manifold is 80 per cent complete,” the company said.
The company said upon completion of the pipeline, the joint venture partners comprising Green Energy International Limited as operator and Lekoil as technical partner, will start transporting to the export terminal and subsequently, be able to gradually ramp up production to 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

Commenting on the update, the Chief Executive Officer of Lekoil, Lekan Akinyanmi said: “We are delighted to announce this key milestone from the Otakikpo field. I would like to thank the entire team that has worked so hard on this project, our partners Green Energy, investors, debt financiers, our host communities and our government regulators for their continued support.”

Strong indications for first oil had emerged when the company announced the successful well tests of C5 and C6 zones in the Otakikpo field at the rates of 6,404 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 5,684 bopd and with a target to hit 10,000 barrels per day by the end of 2016.
According to the results concluded in April 2016, the Otakikpo-002 well flowed oil from two upper zones during two production tests.

The JV had expected to start commercial production by the end of second quarter of 2016.
Akinyanmi had noted that in about a year and half, Lekoil and its partner, GEIL had managed to bring to life a marginal oil field, which is expected to produce 10,000 bopd by year-end.
He said the feat was a demonstration of its technical and financial strengths as well as illustrating the fast-track approach by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to developing previously marginal fields and unlocking value for the benefit of Nigeria.

“Lekoil as a financial and technical partner also commends the support of its stakeholders and host communities whose people and services stand to realise sustainable value. These successful tests represent another major step towards continuous production and are the most significant accomplishment since operations began – demonstrating our disciplined approach to developing an asset efficiently. Safety remains our key priority and we will continue applying the highest standard to our operations as we grow production to, and beyond, our initial Phase 1 target,” Akinyanmi had explained.

by Ejiofor Alike/Thisdaylive