Eland Oil & Gas PLC Monday said it has now completed the restoration work of the production facilities at the Opuama oil field in Nigeria and it expects to start production at a field in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 40 using the facility that was shut down for more than seven years.
The oil and gas development and exploration company operating in West Africa said it has now entered the pre-commissioning and testing phase, including the testing of the final section of the 12 inch export line of the Opuama oil field.
“We expect commencement of production shortly following the successful completion of pre-commissioning and testing,” the company said in a statement.
The production facility tied to the Opuama field was closed for more than seven years because of the poor shape of the infrastructure, the company said.
Eland is working alongside Nigerian Petroleum Development Co. to restart production at the six wells in the Opuama field.
The company estimates the field contains 54.2 million barrels of oil. No production target was disclosed.
Once the work is completed, it is hoping to start drilling an initial six development wells at the field. The company also is waiting for a rig currently being used by Conoil PLC, but said in October that it should get it early in 2014, LSE reports.
Eland also said in October that it expects to be producing in excess of 2,500 barrels of oil a day from two existing wells in the field by the end of the year. It then expects output to increase by about 3,000 barrels a day for each subsequent new well drilled during 2014.
Eland Oil & Gas shares were up 4.9% to 108.00 pence Monday.
