Lekoil begins drilling two new wells in Otakikpo oil field

Lekoil Nigeria Limited, an oil and gas exploration and production company, says it has commenced drilling operations on the Otakikpo marginal field in OML 11, located in the Niger Delta.

The company in a statement noted that the location preparation work for the drilling campaign (Otaks-4 & Otaks-5) which began towards the end of 2021, has progressed to spudding oil wells – which is industry speak for commencement work on drilling an oil well.

“On March 31, 2022, it successfully spudded one of the wells, Otakikpo-4 as part of the Phase 2 development expected to bring aggregate production to a targeted estimated 10,000+ barrel of oil per day (bopd) with 4,000+ net to Lekoil and Gas Limited (LOGL) by the end of 2022,” the company said.

Lekan Akinyanmi, Lekoil Nigeria’s CEO said; “We are delighted to announce the start of the next phase of development on the Otakikpo field and we remain focused on delivering the project safely and on time”

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Three wells had already been drilled in the field. According to details on the company’s website, 2D and 3D seismic analysis revealed reserve estimates considerably in excess of those available at the time of acquisition in May 2014.

For the next phase of development, the company targets a gross production of 15,000 to 20,000 bopd but has been embroiled in shareholder dispute which has hampered growth.

The company also said that its gas subsidiary business has renewed a yearly gas offtake agreement with Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited, which was set to expire in the second quarter of this year, has been extended.

“We are pleased to see years of technical planning work phase transition into project execution. We will continue to strive towards efficient execution in line with industry best practices without compromising on safety,” said Samuel Olotu, Chief Technical Officer, at Lekoil Nigeria.

The Otakikpo field development is a joint venture comprising Green Energy International Limited, the Operator, and the Technical Partner, Lekoil Oil and Gas Investments Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of Lekoil Nigeria

The average production for Q1 2022, was 4,475 bopd gross/1,790 bopd net to LOGL, the company said.

Lekoil Nigeria says the new milestone demonstrates its upward trajectory and projection as a Nigerian company devoted to attaining an exceptional track record of sustainable growth.