Speaking during a panel session at the ongoing 1th Practical Nigerian Content Forum (PNCF) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Chief Investment Officer, NNPC Upstream Investments Management Services (NUIMS), Bala Wunti, revealed that Nigeria is speedily recovering from the months of under-production with oil production at 1.59 million barrels per day as of yesterday, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

Representing the company’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Adokiye Tombomieye, Wunti, also said the NNPC and its partners were making significant efforts with corresponding outcomes in the upstream oil sector, revealing that the company was bringing another American oil major to take part in the Bonga Southwest/Aparo Final Investment Decision (FID) billed to take place in 2024.

Wunti stated at the panel discussion titled “Defining the Requisite Roadmap for Increased Gas Production,” that the cooperation between the NNPC, its partners, the private security contractors, and other industry stakeholders allowed for the achievement of the 1.59bpd production.

According to him, this indicates that a sizeable portion of the lost production volume has been restored; he added that over the previous six months, it had averaged out to around 250,000 barrels.

The Bonga Southwest/Aparo Final Investment Decision (FID), scheduled for 2024, will involve participation from another American oil corporation, he disclosed. Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited runs the deepwater conventional oil development known as Bonga Southwest/Aparo in Nigeria.

The project was scheduled to begin commercial production in 2026 and is now in the approval stage. A total of 24 wells would need to be drilled to develop the asset, which also includes subsea trees and floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) facilities. The project’s FID was expected to be granted in 2022.

The project’s production was anticipated to start in 2026 and reach its peak of about 146,765 bpd of crude oil and condensate and 157 Mmcfd of natural gas in 2027. The production would continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2059, according to economic projections.

Additionally, the field was projected to recover 759.56 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mmboe), which would be made up of 688.17 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 644.8 million barrels of crude oil and condensate, respectively.

Chevron, Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies, Luke Oil, Shell, and Eni are the field’s owners.