ERHC Energy Inc (ERHE)

[seek the light]

Total’s oil production to hit over 1m bpd
Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font
Emeka Ugwuanyi 16/11/2010 00:00:00

The French oil giant – Total has high expectations to triple its oil production in Nigeria following a line up of assets in the conventional and deep offshore areas that will come on stream in the next few years.

The Nation’s
checks reveal that the company’s total barrels of oil equivalent (boepd) in 2009, was 375,000 boepd out of which 235,000 barrels were crude, while it anticipates to increase the output to 475,000 boepd by end of this year with crude rising a little above 300,000 barrels (bbls).

Besides the assets operated by the company, Total also has equities in some portfolios operated under the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and joint venture arrangements.

The company’s expectation is to triple the current production in the next couple of years as some offshore and deep offshore fields will begin production within the period.

The projects expected to come on stream include Usan, Egina, Egina South, Ofon Phase11, Preowei, Nkarika and Etisong as well as upgrade of OML 58.

The expectations are contained in the latest report by Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria, where the company expressed satisfaction with the pace of its achievements. The report gave highlights of the company’s current production recalling how it started. The report said: "Total Upstream in Nigeria started production in 1966 from its first oil field (Obagi field) in oil mining licence (OML) 58 onshore Rivers State. It moved from land to swamp in 1972 following confirmation of substantial discoveries in OML 57 in present Delta State. This field has, however, been recently relinquished.

"By 1975, the company’s production from the two fields reached 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). In 1993, it commenced production offshore from its first offshore concession OML 100 in the Odudu field and in 1993. It started gas production from its first gas utilisation facility, the Obite Gas Plant (OGP). The facility simultaneously began delivery of gas to Trains 1and 2 of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas plant at Bonny Island, Rivers State, the same year. Before then, the Ofon field had come on stream in OML 102 in 1997.

"In 2000, the company’s production reached 100,000 boepd, the same year that the giant Akpo field was discovered by Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) in OPL 246 now (OML 130) in partnership with SAPETRO an indigenous company. Production commenced on the Amenam/Kpono field in OML 99 in 2003, adding 125,000 boepd.

"In 2009, the Akpo field started production with an estimated production capacity of 175,000 boepd, at the peak. When all ongoing developments, come on stream in the nearest future, Total’s current production capacity will be tripled. The projects include Usan, Egina, Egina South, Ofon Phase11, Preowei, Nkarika and Etisong as well as upgrade of OML 58."

Total’s Executive Vice-President for Africa, Jacques Marraud des Grottes, had at a conference in Cape Town, South Africa, last week said the company plans to treble the number of its floating production vessels off the West African coast over the next seven years as it increases output in the Gulf of Guinea – Africa’s richest oil province in which Nigeria is the highest producer.

He said Total would add six floating production, storage and offloading units to the three it has now and a second floating production unit by around 2017. "Africa is a good place to be in our business. Our production will increase significantly in the coming years with current and future development projects," des Grottes said.

He noted that Total’s oil and gas production from Africa was flat at 750,000 boepd, but as new offshore projects come on stream, production is expected to hit one million barrels daily.

It is also expected that by the time the company’s production in Nigeria hits over one million barrels, its output from Africa, would be well above two million boepd.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/business/energy/18973.html