The variety of useful oil drilling rigs throughout the nation elevated marginally to 16 in February, information from the most recent March 2024 Month-to-month Oil Market Report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Nations has proven.
Figures launched by OPEC indicated that the nation’s oil rigs elevated from 15 in January to 16 in February, a improvement which business operators described as important for the manufacturing of crude.
OPEC information confirmed that the nation operated a median of 13, 16 and 14 oil rigs within the second, third and fourth quarters of 2023, respectively.
An oil rig/platform is a big construction with amenities to extract and course of petroleum and pure fuel that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed.
Nigeria, as an oil/gas-rich nation, drills crude oil day by day from onshore and offshore sources for export.
It earns greater than 80 per cent of its international change from oil; therefore, the variety of useful oil drilling rigs throughout the nation is important.
The worldwide oil cartel revealed that Nigeria’s oil rig depend was lowest in 2021, when solely a median of seven rigs was useful.
It rose to a median of 10 rigs in 2022 and elevated to a median of 14 rigs in 2023.
The Chief Government Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee, Gbenga Komolafe, in a presentation obtained in Abuja, said that the nation’s oil drilling rigs had elevated by over 270 per cent within the final three years.
This, in line with him, had additionally impacted the nation’s oil output currently, as Nigeria was steadily approaching the oil manufacturing quota accepted by OPEC.
“275 per cent progress in rig depend from simply eight in 2021 to a median of 30 prior to now one 12 months. Early first oil was achieved in not too long ago streamed fields by way of accelerated FDPs.
“A number of the fields embody: Ikike (Complete), Efe discipline (Newcross), Utapate, (NEPL), Akubo Subject (SEEPCo), Oyo (Common Hydrocarbon) and several other others streamed beneath Prolonged Effectively Checks together with Ethiope, Omefejo, Ofa, Olure, Ibom, Apani, Kalaekule, and so on.,” Komolafe said.
He disclosed this whereas talking on what he known as a “success story” in Nigeria’s oil sector, because the NUPRC boss additional identified that “a complete of 51 Subject Improvement Plans (had been) accepted within the 12 months 2022 – 2023.”
This, he stated, was “anticipated to draw a complete $17.64bn funding influx in addition to ship cumulative oil restoration and fuel restoration estimated at 2.12 billion barrels and 13.13 trillion cubic ft respectively within the subsequent 5 years.”
He additionally famous {that a} complete of about $2.5bn funding was anticipated in 175 wells drilling within the 12 months 2022 – 2023.
“A complete of $2.68bn funding in 842 properly workovers and different properly intervention actions within the 12 months 2022 – 2023 leading to elevated common oil manufacturing,” Komolafe said.
Based on Komolafe, although the precise nationwide crude oil manufacturing at the moment averages 1.33 million barrels per day and 256,000 barrels of condensate per day, the nationwide technical manufacturing potential at the moment stands at 2.26 million bpd, whereas the present OPEC quota is 1.5 million bpd.
“Closing the hole between the precise oil manufacturing and the technical potential presents a window of funding alternatives for traders and a big alternative for Nigeria to unlock extra income streams, tackle the present international change hole and strengthen her financial resilience. So there may be alternative in each incapacity,” the NUPRC boss said.
He remarked the fee had additionally intensified efforts in collaborating with worldwide oil firms to make sure accelerated maturation and improvement of some high-volume deep offshore belongings.
“The fee has created additional funding alternatives by way of the continuing licensing spherical for seven deepwater acreages, in addition to the proposed 2024 closed bids anticipated to extend the nation’s reserve and manufacturing and increase nationwide income.
“At this level, allow me to reiterate that each open and closed bids are permissible by the legislation as Part 73(1) of the PIA doesn’t preclude both method, as far as the licensing spherical is ‘…based mostly on a good, clear and aggressive bidding course of’,” he enunciated.
