The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Sterling Exploration and Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) signed an agreement for the development and commercialization of gas from the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 143. This is part of an effort to reduce gas flaring in the country.
At the signing ceremony held at NNPC Towers, The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari described the execution of the deal as a great milestone.
He said that it was also a testament to NNPC’s commitment to facilitating the nation’s transformation into a gas-powered economy.
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In his speech, the Chairman of SEEPCO, Mr. Tony Chukwueke, described the deal as an essential partnership, that would help the company fulfill the pledge it made to the Nigerian Government. The pledge is to support the efforts to eliminate gas flaring by monetizing it.
He further said that execution of the agreement was central to the achievement of the company’s main objective. The objective is to boost the production of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), condensate and dry gas for the Nigerian market. He added that the company has invested about $600 million for that purpose.
In August, NNPC and its partners signed a pact to settle all outstanding issues around the development of OML 130. The partners were China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) and South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETROL).
The pact signed was in part a bid unlock gas revenues to the tune of about $510million in the long run for the country.
About OML 143
OML 143 is located in thickly forested terrain in the northern Niger Delta, and was previously known as OPL 280. It contains two producing fields; Okwuibome discovered by Shell in 1979 and the smaller Anieze field.
Shell’s OML 39 was revoked in 2005 and re-awarded as OPL 280 to Indian company Sterling Global in 2007 in partnership with a local company Allene Energy.
About SEEPCO
Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Co. Limited is an Indian company. It is part of the Sandesara Group that ventured into Nigeria oil and gas market and currently produce crude oil in the Niger Delta.
Sandesara Group expanded its E&P portfolio from India to Nigeria in 2006, through another subsidiary Sterling Global Oil Resources Limited (SGORL). This was done by signing a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for OPL 277 Block with Government of Nigeria.
SEEPCO had been awarded the OPL 280 Block and the PSC was signed in April 2007. SEEPCO has businesses in 6 continents and several countries.
The company also holds a technical services agreement for OML 13 held by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). NPDC funds the operations, while Sterling does the work.
Written by;
Nnamdi M.
