The Federal Government has discovered new oil fields with a daily production capacity of 1.52 billion standard cubic feet of gas and 681,000 barrels of crude oil, respectively. This information was revealed in a recent report titled “Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Sector: Value Optimisation, Energy Transition and Regulatory Perspectives” that was created by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
The Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, described the incremental amounts of oil that were anticipated from new wells and well re-entry in the paper that was received by our reporter in Abuja.
He said, “We have also completed the 2020 Marginal Field Bid Round and issued 50 Petroleum Prospecting Licenses to deserving awardees. It is expected that with the existing discoveries in the awarded fields, an early Field Development Plan would be pursued by the awardees leading to incremental oil and gas production.
“The commission is facilitating timely approvals for expedited re-entry and early production. The estimated incremental production from the awarded fields is approximately 58,000bpd and 87mmscf/d.
“In the short/medium term, we expect an estimated incremental volume of 461,000bpd and 565mmscf/d from new wells and well re-entry. In the long term, we expect an estimated incremental volume of 162,000bpd and 868mmscf/d from FDPs, which have been approved and are at various stages of execution.”
Komolafe further noted that the implementation of Host Community Provisions under Section 235 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 saddled the commission with the responsibility of ensuring conducive and peaceful relationships among stakeholders within the host communities.
This, he said, would be done through the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust.
“The commission, in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, has developed templates and gazetted regulations, which include that of the Host Community Development Trust.
“The essence of the HCDT is to integrate oil-bearing communities into the value chain and effectively cater for the development needs of impacted communities, thus positively curbing restiveness in such communities and offering an enabling environment for operators to thrive.
“This is expected to guarantee seamless operation, boost investor confidence, and provide an enabling environment for sustainable development of the country’s hydrocarbon resources,” Komolafe stated.
He added that the NUPRC was happy to disclose that over 60 Host Community Development Trusts had been approved by the commission.
“This is indeed a milestone in the implementation of the PIA, 2021,” he stated.
To reach the 1.8 million barrels per day limit that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has set for Nigeria, the Federal Government and its agencies have been working to increase the nation’s crude oil production.
For instance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited said on Monday that the nation’s oil output had grown to 1.6 million barrels per day, only a few thousand barrels shy of the 1.8 million barrels per day limit that OPEC had allotted to Nigeria. At a gathering of industry stakeholders in Abuja, NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive, Mele Kyari, made this announcement. He also said that the rectangle security strategy had assured the output had recovered from its July 2022 level to the present 1.67 million barrels per day level.
Kyari, who was represented by the Head of Upstream Investment, NNPCL, Bala Wunti, at the event, said the implementation of the Detect, Deter, Destroy and Recover policy had paid off.
Other strategies that were deployed include the establishment of the Central Command and Control Centre for effective monitoring and coordination, the launch of the Whistle-Blowers Portal and the Crude Oil Validation Portal, as well as the deployment of surveillance tools in the fight against oil theft and vandalism.
