The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and First Exploration and Production Development Company (FIRST E&P) Joint Venture has announced the commencement of oil production from the Anyala West field in Oil Mining Leases OMLs 83 and 85.

FIRST E&P is the operator of the two blocks on behalf of the Joint Venture. The Blocks are located in the shallow waters offshore Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The Anyala-Madu field project is for the development of 142 million barrels of oil and 98 billion standard cubic feet of gas from the fields in Phase 1, using the Abigail-Joseph FPSO.

The FPSO is a 274-metre long converted Suezmax trading tanker that can store up to 700,000 barrels of oil, can process 60,000 barrels of oil per day, can produce water treatment of 20,000 barrels of oil per day and can handle 39 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The FPSO recently underwent an upgrade, refurbishment and life extension work in the Keppel Shipyard, Singapore.

Seven development wells have been planned in Phase 1 and have6 been approved by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Each field is to be developed with a novel drilling and development technology deployed in the Niger Delta; an unmanned Conductor Supported Platform (CSP).

At its peak production, the project will produce about 60,000 barrels of oil per day, unlock over 300 million barrels of crude oil recoverable reserves and create a value of over $8 billion for Nigeria over the lifespan of all the phases of the project. The project was carried out with over 2.5 million man-hours with zero Lost Time Injury.

The project is Nigeria’s first wholly indigenously executed and funded integrated Oil and Gas project in the shallow offshore. The Group Managing Director of the National Oil Company, Mele Kyari said the success of the project is not just a landmark achievement for NNPC and FIRST E&P but a remarkable one for Nigeria too. He says the project is key to the Corporation’s objective of 3 million barrels of oil per day by 2023.

The Managing Director of FIRST E&P, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero said, “We appreciate all the support that was given to us by the NNPC, the Department of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board as well as the hard work and collaboration by FIRST E&P staff, our contractors and Nigerian banks in the achievement of this major milestone. This First Oil production will support the continuous drive of FIRST E&P to be a leading Nigerian independent integrated execution vehicle in the upstream oil and gas sector, as well as demonstrate our commitment to continue to create sustainable value to drive economic growth and development of Nigeria.”