The Abigail Joseph Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility, operated by the NNPCL-First E&P Joint Venture offshore Bayelsa aims to add about 100,000 barrel per day (bpd) to Nigeria’s crude oil production output.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Petroleum (oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The Minister, who supervised the FPSO alongside other stakeholders, said the facility has made remarkable progress by boosting crude oil production, making an impressive 60,000 barrels per day (bpd), with a strong commitment to scaling up production to bpd.
“During my inspection of the Abigail Joseph FPSO facility, operated under the NNPCL-First E&P Joint Venture on OML 83/85 offshore Bayelsa, I was impressed by the progress made towards increasing our crude oil production. The FPSO is currently producing at a commendable rate of 60,000 bpd, with an active commitment to ramping up production to 100,000 bpd.
This effort aligns with our broader goal of achieving sustained growth in national production capacity especially as First E&P has embarked on a course that I have championed, a drilling campaign targeting 23 oil wells,” the Minister said in a statement.
He added that the initiative aligns seamlessly to achieve sustained growth in national production capacity.
This proactive approach underscores the significant potential of collaborations between NNPCL and indigenous companies in optimizing production capabilities.
The opportunities unlocked by the ongoing progress of the oil sector reforms will contribute to the collective goal of enhancing national productivity.
Backstory
In an article previously reported by Nairametrics the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited announced achieving producing 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) and a gas production rate of 7.4 standard cubic feet per day (scfd) in November as stated by NNPC spokesperson, Soneye.
- It was further disclosed that its target of reaching 2 million bpd by the end of the year.
- Speaking at the briefing, the Group CEO of NNPC, Mele Kyari, commended the Production War Room Team for their role in driving the recovery process.
“The team has done an excellent job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that, in the short and long terms, meet the mandates given by the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari stated
- The Senior Business Adviser to the Group CEO, Mr. Lawal Musa, pointed to the achievement and collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.
- He noted that the interventions leading to the production recovery spanned every segment of the production chain, with pipelines being closely monitored by security agencies.
“We are optimistic that with this momentum and continued collaboration, especially on the security front, reaching 2 million bpd by year-end is achievable,” Musa said
- NNPC’s claim of producing 1.8 million bpd of crude oil comes shortly after OPEC’s monthly report indicated that Nigeria’s crude output in October stood at 1.43 million bpd.
- With November data from OPEC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yet to be released, there is currently no independent verification of NNPC’s claim of 1.8 million bpd.
Additionally, an increase in crude oil production would positively impact Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, potentially stabilizing the naira, which continues to struggle in the foreign exchange market.