Walter Smith Petroman Oil Limited, an indigenous oil company was one of the 30 companies granted license to operate marginal oil fields ten years ago. It is one of the four companies that one can safely say is meeting the purpose for which the Federal Government awarded the fields. That is getting Nigerians actively participating in the upstream sector of the petroleum industry.
The company which currently has a daily crude oil production of 4,000 barrels per day is aiming to increase it to 7,000 barrels per day. If it achieves this feat, then it would be just 3,000 barrels to reach the threshold of an independent producer. Any company that produces about 10,000 barrels and above is tagged independent producer.
Celebrating its 10th year anniversary recently, the management of the company led by Abdul Razag Issa Kutepa, its chairman and chief executive officer, rolled out the future plans saying that it has to develop the company and take it to a greater height in the foreseeable future.
Going down memory lane, Issa said that after attaining the approval of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) the company engaged the services of reputable oil services company for the exercise which culminated in the drilling and completion of two appraisal and development wells.
Ibigwe-4 appraisal well was drilled and completed in the D2.0and C4.0 sands as a vertical well at the crest of the structure which Ibigwe-5 a development well was drilled with 133 meters horizontal section in the C2.0 sand to optimise production of heavy and high viscosity, low gas to oil ratio and low API crude in the field.
Today the company has a achieved a milestone cumulative production of 2.5million barrels in 2012. The company has a forecast production for Ibigwe fields which is 7,000 bpd after the ongoing production optimisation process is completed.
Aside this, it is also proposing a 5,000 barrels per day refinery that would cost it about N6billion or $40 million. The refinery would concentrate of the production of jet A fuel and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) the two components of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry that have been deregulated.
The company said it is however still working out details of the refinery. The feasibility studies of the project has been completed while its technical and commercial reviews have also been conducted.
About 51 percent of the yield would be for crude export while the remaining 40 per would be for the refinery. The market for the products are available in the country he said. The new innovation, according the chairman of the company, came into being because of persistent security threat that has adversely affected the operation of the company. “If there is refinery when we are stocked and not able to transport crude for export because of pipeline breaks or shut down by militants; what is produced and we are not able to export we could send to the refinery.”
If it eventually establish the refinery it would be the second indigenous company that has set up a refinery to refine the crude oil on its location. The other company being Niger Delta Exploration and production Company which is currently refining 1,000 barrel per day of AGO.
According to Isa, Walter Smith Petroman Oil Limited the operator of Oil mining Lease OML 16 has completed the Ibigwe field development , investing about $180 million in a five well drilling and one work over campaign including the commissioning of 15,000 barrels per day flow station. The company continues to invest in potential assets that can enhance its portfolio. Such assets include OML 34 from which Shell Petrolum Developpment Company and its joint venture companies divested. It invested $600 million in the consortium that acquired the 45 percent equity.
