By Emmanuella Anokam
The NNPC Ltd-TotalEnergies Joint Venture (JV) has announced a 550 million dollars Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ubeta Field Development Project.
This was announced on Thursday at the signing ceremony held at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) Towers, Abuja.
The milestone is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Executive Order on Oil and Gas Reforms, aimed at improving the investment climate and positioning Nigeria as the preferred investment destination for the Oil and Gas sector in Africa.
The Ubeta field was discovered in 1964, in the North-West of Port Harcourt in the eastern part of the Niger Delta.
Once on stream, it will produce about 350 million standard cubic feet per day (MMScf/day) of gas and 10,000 BBLS/day of associated liquids.
It will tap into the vast gas reserves and contribute towards securing gas supply to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
Malam Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited said the milestone was a major step towards boosting Nigeria’s oil and gas production.
Kyari expressed appreciation to the president for providing the appropriate fiscal environment and facilitating a conducive operational environment as a major enabler in achieving this success.
The GCEO, while appreciating the industry stakeholders for their continuous support, lauded the Federal Government’s Presidential Executive Orders for Fostering Growth in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas sector.
“The Presidential Executive Order is instrumental to us getting to this significant milestone and we are now seeing the impact of the policy,” Kyari said.
In his remarks, Mike Sangster, Senior Vice-President Africa, Exploration and Production, TotalEnergies, described Ubeta as the latest in a series of projects developed by the oil giant in Nigeria, most recently Ikike and Akpo West.
“I am pleased that we can unveil this new gas project which has been made possible by the Federal Government’s recent incentives for non-associated gas developments.
“Ubeta fits perfectly with our strategy of developing low-cost and low-emission projects, and will contribute to the Nigerian economy through higher NLNG exports,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, said Tinubu had significantly rekindled investor’s confidence in the Oil and Gas Industry, assuring Nigerians that more investments were on the way.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the project was a testament to the effectiveness of government’s policies aimed at creating a conducive environment for investment in the gas sector.
Located in OML58, the Ubeta gas condensate field will be developed with a new 6-well cluster connected to the existing Obite facilities through an 11km buried pipeline.
Production start-up is expected in 2027, with a plateau of 300 million cubic feet per day (about 70,000barrels of oil equivalent per day including condensates).
Gas from Ubeta will be supplied to NLNG, a liquefaction plant located in Bonny Island with an on-going capacity expansion from 22 to 30 Mtpa, in which NNPC Limited holds a 49% interest.
Ubeta is a low-emission and low-cost development, leveraging OML58 existing gas processing facilities.
The carbon intensity of the project will be further reduced through a 5 MW solar plant currently under construction at the Obite site and the electrification of the drilling rig.
TotalEnergies is working closely with NNPC Limited to enhance local content, with more than 90 per cent of man-hours which will be worked locally.
The Ubeta FID justifies the effort invested by NNPC Limited, with unyielding Executive support, into tackling the underlying reasons that have plagued the attractiveness of the Nigerian oil and gas industry to foreign investors in recent years.
The Ubeta project has a robust Nigerian Content plan and is poised to stimulate economic activities, create job opportunities, and create significant value for stakeholders.
(NAN)
