Export of crude oil started from Nigeria’s Otakikpo onshore terminal, an expandable $1.3 billion facility that is projected to mark a decentralised oil and gas export facility in the country.
The facility, developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) and expected to return operators to over 40 stranded oil fields, comes as the country’s first indigenous onshore crude export terminal in over 50 years after Nigeria started oil production.
The maiden export was carried out recently by Shell’s off-taker vessel MV.
The development, the company said in a statement, signals the successful completion and operational readiness of the terminal.
Nigeria is currently struggling with oil production primarily because of weak infrastructure that hampers the evacuation of crude or makes it unprofitable, as the cost of oil production in Nigeria hovers around $48 per barrel in some fields.
The company said the export was completed at about 2 pm on Sunday, June 8, when an off-taker vessel chartered by Shell lifted the maiden crude cargo from the terminal, located in the Otakikpo marginal field, Rivers State.
The terminal is Nigeria’s first privately built and operated onshore crude export facility in over five decades.
Anthony Adegbulugbe, chairman of GEIL, in a statement issued on Sunday, described the development as a historic feat, crediting the success to divine grace, the resilience of the company’s staff, and the support of regulatory agencies.
He also expressed the gratitude of the company to “all the regulatory agencies who supported and supervised the epoch event.”
The newly constructed terminal boasts an initial storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, with potential expansion to three million barrels.
It also features a 360,000 barrels per day pumping capacity for loading export tankers, making it one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Nigeria’s energy landscape.
Adegbulugbe said the project, completed ahead of schedule in under two years, has already made history as the first privately developed crude oil terminal by an African operator.
“With an initial investment exceeding $400 million and a full-phase development projection of $1.3 billion, GEIL’s commitment to expanding Nigeria’s oil export infrastructure is evident.
“The Otakikpo terminal is designed to accommodate up to 250,000 barrels per day of crude injection, while the Otakikpo field currently produces around 10,000 barrels per day. This opens strategic opportunities for third-party producers, particularly over 40 nearby stranded fields estimated to hold more than three billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE)”, the company added.
BusinessDay
