The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has announced the commencement of oil production from the Akpo West field, achieving an additional 14,000 barrels per day of condensate.
According to a statement by NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi O. Soneye, production from Akpo West leverages the existing Akpo Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility through a subsea tie-back. This approach minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and keeps costs low.
The statement noted that this milestone aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to NNPC Ltd. to optimize production from the country’s oil and gas assets. It is the result of strategic planning and collaboration between NNPC Ltd. and its partners.
Located 135km offshore, Akpo West sits in close proximity to the Akpo Main field, which has produced over 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023. Both fields are part of Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 2, operated by TotalEnergies.
The milestone production was enabled by the leadership of NNPC Ltd.’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, and the Upstream Directorate. Their unwavering support was instrumental in actualizing the short- and mid-term goals set by President Tinubu’s administration.
Besides the condensate, Akpo West is expected to produce around 4 million cubic meters of gas per day by 2028. This will significantly boost Nigeria’s oil and gas output.
PML 2 is operated by TotalEnergies with a 24% interest, in partnership with CNOOC (45%), Sapetro (15%), Prime 130 (16%), and NNPC Ltd. as the concessionaire of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC).