NPDC’s gas production hits 430mmscf/d

Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) has steadily ramped up production from 270MMSCF/D and 60MMSCF/D to 360MMSCF/D and 70MMSCF/D for Utorogu NAG 1 and Ughelli East (UGHE) plants respectively.

The company, which stated this in a document on Monday, added that NPDC is currently producing about 430MMSCF/D from the two plants in its Oil Mining Lease (OML) 34.

The company noted that this is a record that has never been achieved since the field came into existence in the 1970s. “Production is still ramping up, having attained 40 MMSCF/D.

In addition, plans are currently underway to further increase production from the two fields with the completion of Utorogu NAG 2 plant with an installed capacity of 150MMSCF/D.

NPDC focus is to ramp up, grow and sustain production from the three plants at 450MMSCF/D by the third quarter of 2015.

This would make NPDC the second largest gas producer in Nigeria. “NPDC wishes to achieve this feat through the aggressive gas development campaign currently going-on in OML 34.

This involves drilling of gas wells and completing/commissioning of the 150 MMSCF/D capacities NAG II plant in the short term. The NAG II plant is 96 per cent completed as at today, 4th June 2015.

The company’s medium term plan is to deliver about 600 MMSCF/D of gas to the National grid to support the FGN Gas to Power aspiration by the end of 2015”, it added.

It explained that the OML 34 was producing an average of 270MMSCFD from NAG1 and 60MMSCFD from UGHE gas plants at takeover from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

NPDC added that with the recent improvement drive and overall service commitment by the company, production has steadily ramped up to 360MMSCF/D and 70MMSCF/D for NAG 1 and UGHE plants respectively.

In summary, NPDC is currently producing about 430MMSCF/D from the two plants. Dwelling on OML 30, the company disclosed that the average daily net production as at takeover from SPDC was about 20,982 barrels of oil per day (bpd), adding that the production in OML 30 has increased to 60,000 bpd since NPDC took over.

It listed the NPDC key achievement to include the successful re-entry into Uzere community to open-up Uzere-West field with a locked-in potential of 14,000 bpd; rehabilitation of eight units of 5.2MMSCF/D Gas Lift Compressors and commissioning of new GL Compressors to ensure adequate production uptime and increase in Gas lift capacity and successful installation of LACT units for proper hydrocarbon accounting.

It noted that the company has also successfully negotiated a Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) with 112 communities of OML 30 together with Delta state government; took over Oleh Field Logistic Base (FLB) and deployed personnel to fully man all the Flow stations and Ughelli Production Station; and developed and secured approval for the AFELOROW (Afiesere, Olomoro-Oleh, Oroni and Oweh) fields development plan as well as ensure proper management of the Trans Forcados Pipeline.

Former NPDC Managing Director, Iyowuna Briggs, said taking over the operatorship of the oil fields came with enormous challenges, but the state-owned company was keeping the promise to ensure that the fields remained productive.

Briggs said: “It is clear right from the beginning that the challenges faced by the NPDC are enormous, following the divestment of OMLs 34 and 40 and OML 30.

For example, five days after the takeover of the operatorship of OML 30, the Oroni and Olomoro flow stations were forcefully shut down by the members of the Igbide and Olomoro communities respectively. “Oroni flow station was eventually shut down for over 50 days.

This resulted in the deferment of production amounting to over 115,000 barrels. Other shutdowns of production in various fields had impeded the attainment of the company’s production target of 135,000 barrels of oil per day for the fiscal year 2013.

Consequently, over the past one year, NPDC had witnessed a drastic drop in its daily oil production from about 135,000bpd to 115,000bpd leading to a substantial loss of revenues.”

In spite of this, Briggs said the NPDC was producing between 65,000 and 70,000 barrels of oil per day before it took over the assets, and this had since gone up to 140,000bpd with a target to hit 160,000bpd by the end of 2014.

Briggs said NPDC would spend a minimum of $1.8bn per annum on capital expenditure over a two-year period. He explained that the company would drill 18 oil wells across its oil assets in 2014, stressing that it currently maintains an interest in 28 OMLs in the country.

He said: “NPDC drilled less than 10 wells over a five-year period ended October 2012.

However, we drilled about six to seven wells between then and 2013 and we are going to be drilling up to 18 wells in 2014.”

Briggs said NPDC currently had the capacity to produce 140,000 barrels of oil per day, adding that it had been delivering 410 million metric standard cubic feet of gas per day into the domestic gas.