First oil at Ogbele field: 15 years after

Owing to Covid-19 protocols, there was no clinking of glasses recently as leading indigenous upstream oil and gas firm, Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) commemorated the 15th year anniversary of oil production from its Ogbele Marginal field in Rivers State.

The historic import of the event, however, was such that the company organised a Zoom event with about 150 persons in attendance to mark the milestone.

The attendees included present and past staff and directors of the company, community stakeholders, and friends of the company.

Coincidentally, the event was held on the same day the company achieved first oil from Ogbele on August 28, 2005, effectively kick-starting what has been a remarkable story of resilience, indigenous technical savvy, and corporate success.

“It is a milestone I am proud of, such as we achieved together as a company,” Layi Fatona, managing director of NDEP, said at the event, noting, “We did not get here by chance. We got here because we believed it could be done. We shared the common dream that first, an indigenous oil company was possible. Next, we put in much work to make it happen.”

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It certainly was not easy to make it happen, especially at inception. A former chairman of NDEP, Ogbueshi Ben Osuno, who was also at the event, recalled some of the initial challenges the company faced as an indigenous upstream oil and gas pioneer. These included securing presidential approval to operate the field, attracting investors to fund the field development project as well as getting “a drilling company to work with us even after agreeing to pay a higher sum for the job,” he said.

NDEP persevered and their achievement of first oil from the Ogbele Marginal field on that date 15 years ago began the process of their evolution into a diversified corporation with interests spanning oil and gas exploration and production, refinery operations and thriving operations in other countries in Africa including South Sudan and Uganda.

“NDEP is seen as a major accomplishment because we have grown from being a single well company into a crude oil and gas producing, processing, refining, and exporting company,” Osuno said.

Another former chairman of the company Board of Directors, Goodie Ibru, who also spoke at the event, congratulated the current chairman of the Board of NDEP, Ladi Jadesimi, the other directors, management and staff of the company for its successes to date.

“The remarkable thing about NDEP,” Ibru said, “is that it is not just producing crude oil and exporting, it is adding value to the Nigerian economy. It has become an integrated oil and gas company. It has a mini refinery; it has a gas plant, and this translates to the creation of job opportunities for the youths.

“It’s doing a lot to create opportunities for young people, creating wealth and also keeping part of the wealth within the country instead of just sending crude oil abroad and importing refined products.”

Commending the company for their contributions towards the development of their host communities, a community leader, Kipoye Gogo from Otari Host Community, said three key factors were responsible for the harmonious relationship NDEP had enjoyed with its Host Communities – fulfilled promises by the company, commitment to agreements and accessibility.

Another community leader, Napoleon Ukalikpe, said Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR), an NDEP subsidiary, “employs our youths in Ogbele community, they have built schools, sank boreholes and provided electricity to our communities and they are still doing more today as we speak. “

Various speakers at the event extolled the pioneering roles of one of the company’s founders and former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the late Aret Adams, in the founding and successful take-off of the NDEP.

Since the first production of crude oil from its Ogbele Marginal field in 2005, NDEP has since recovered over 19 million barrels, and over 90 billion Standard cubic feet (B Scf) of gas. The company has also evolved into a foremost integrated energy company with thriving interests in various aspects of Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain and in emerging business operations and opportunities in other African countries including South Sudan.

Aside from its status as a leader and pioneer in developing marginal oil fields in Nigeria, NDEP also pioneered a Corporate Social Responsibility model in Nigeria that has been instrumental to the smooth relationship it has enjoyed from its Host Communities since inception.

Soon after the commencement of production from the Ogbele field, the company established a Community Development Trust in 2006, which is funded through a dedicated 5 percent of their net profit specifically for Corporate Social Investment in the Host Communities.