After a two-year shutdown due to crude oil theft, the Nigerian National Petroleum Limited and its Joint Venture Partner, Newscross Exploration and Production, have resumed operations at the Awoba Unit Field, targeting a production of 12,000 million barrels per day.
On Tuesday, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, announced this development in a statement.
Since the restart on April 13, 2024, the oil field has been producing an average of 8,000 barrels per day, with plans to increase production to 12,000 barrels per day within the next 30 days.
The Awoba Unit is located in the mangrove swamp south of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, spanning OMLs 18 and 24, both managed by NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, NUIMS.
In late 2023, NNPC Ltd achieved the restart of production at OMLs 29 and OML 18, which have been contributing around 60,000bpd to the nation’s production output since then, in addition to the Madu Field.
Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., credited the success to the supportive operational environment under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
Appreciating the contributions of various stakeholders including staff, operators, host communities, government security agencies, and private security contractors, he highlighted their pivotal role in this accomplishment.
Following the recent commencement of crude oil production at the Madu oilfield, the government aims to increase daily crude oil production to 1.65mbpd.