First oil from Otakikpo

Nigeria’s Otakikpo field on the southeastern Niger delta began production on Saturday, Nigerian exploration and production company Lekoil reported in a company press release.

The Otakikpo-002 well flowed at a peak rate of 5,703 barrels of oil per day at a 36/64 inch choke. Both the Otakikpo-002 and Otakikpo-003 wells were initially drilled in the 1980s, but lacked funding for development until 2014. Otakikpo-003 is scheduled to come into operation by the end of 2015.

The field’s recoverable reserves are estimated to be more than 20 million barrels of oil.

Lekoil financed the local operator Green Energy International 16 months ago to form the Otakikpo Joint Venture in a 40/60 stake split.

“We are delighted to announce that Lekoil is now an oil producer,” Lekoil CEO Lekan Akinyanmi said in the press release. “We always believed in the potential of Otakikpo but the production rate from the first re-entered well has exceeded our expectations.”

Image courtesy of Green Energy International

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