March 29, 2024

Nigerian Government’s plan to reactivate over 3,000 shut-in oil wells reaches advanced stage

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Oredola Adeola

The plan by the Nigerian Government to reactivate over 3,000 shut-in oil strings in the short, medium, and long term has reached an advanced stage as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said that its integrated industry-wide study is about to be concluded.

Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, made this known on Monday while reviewing the success of the commission since its inception in 2021.

EnergyDay gathered that NUPRC had in June 2022, inaugurated a 10-man expert team to work on a report preceding the reactivation of the shut-in oil well which has contributed to the country’s inability to produce its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil quota.

Nigeria’s crude oil production crashed by 24.73 percent in September 2022 to 937,766 barrels per day.

This is a drop compared to 1.246 million barrels per day recorded over the corresponding month in 2021, the latest data from the Federal Government has shown.

Engr. Komolafe disclosed that the integrated industry-wide study will help the country boost its oil production and guide investment planning.

He said, “The study also aimed at optimising the recovery factor via identification of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)/Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) candidate wells and recommend low-hanging potentials to boost National production.

Komolafe said that it had awarded 47 petroleum prospecting licenses to winners of marginal fields during the 2020 marginal field bid round.

He said the commission ensured the development of model license and model lease in conjunction with Legal and Compliance and Enforcement (C&E) SBU and renewal of OMLs 128, 130, 132, 133 and 138.

He said that the move was critical in the development and increased production of oil and gas.

According to Komolafe, the commission has within the past year achieved, among others, a declaration of the nation’s reserves which stands at oil and condensate reserves of 37.046billion barrels.

“This indicates an increase of 0.37 percent compared to 2020 figures. The life index stands at 60 years.

“Gas reserves of 208.62 TCF indicate an increase of 1.01 percent compared to 2020 figures. Life index stands at 88 years,” he said.

He further said that the automation of upstream work processes was almost completed.

According to him, it is planned to improve the efficiency of our work processes and become operational before the end of year 2022.

“Ikike first oil was officially celebrated in September 2022. It is expected to deliver peak production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of 2022,” he added.

Komolafe also said that the commission had ensured the deployment and commissioning of Aiteo 120kbd barge-mounted crude oil processing facility to minimise crude oil theft and vandalism.

He added that the deployment and commissioning of Tenoil 10 Thousand Barrels per Day(kbd) Early Production Facility (EPF) would increase crude oil daily production by 10kbd.

Komolafe also said that the development of the advanced cargo declaration regime and Crude oil and Liquefied Natural Gas Tracking (COLT) are also in process.

“We also ensured the completed establishment of ELI-AKASO crude oil export terminal,’’ he said.

The NUPRC boss said that publishing up-to-date data on national crude oil production on the commission’s website ensured transparency of data and information.

According to him, it has provided accurate volume to both internal and external users.

“In line with the provisions of section 108 of the Petroleum Industry Act, (PIA 2021), NUPRC commenced engagement and sensitisation of all operators to submit gas flare elimination and monetisation plan.

“10 high-impact technologies, innovations, and solutions have been successfully qualified and adapted into the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“The high–impact technologies aim to increase oil discovery and production, reduce the cost of pipeline maintenance and integrity threshold among others,’’ he said.

He restated the commission’s commitment to ensure that all petroleum industry operations were properly monitored to ensure that they are in line with national goals and aspirations.

Komolafe stressed the need to ensure that health safety and environmental regulations conform with national and international best oil field practices.

He also emphasised the need to maintain records on petroleum industry operations, particularly on matters relating to petroleum reserves, production/exports, licenses, and leases.

He pledged that the commission would continue to advise government and relevant agencies on technical matters and public policies that may have an impact on the administration and petroleum activities.

Engr. Komolafe however promised that NUPRC would ensure timely and accurate payments of rents, royalties, and other revenues due to the government while maintaining and administering the national data warehouse.

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