TotalEnergies starts production from Nigeria’s Ikike field

From Abubakar Yunusa

TotalEnergies, the operator of OML 99, announced Monday it has started oil production from Nigeria’s Ikike field.

The company in a statement published on its website said the project is in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCLimited) with a share of 60 per cent.

The development came a week after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, a landmark event that officially changed the oil firm from a wholly state-run entity to a commercial oil company, limited by shares.

TotalEnergies is a multinational energy company operating in more than 130 countries. For over 50 years, the company has remained a leader in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The company had in May launched a sale of its minority stake in a Nigerian oil joint venture.

The company said it was selling its interest in 13 onshore fields and 3 in shallow water, producing over 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The sale includes infrastructure such as 3,500 km of pipelines connecting to two key crude export terminals, Bonny and Forcados.

It said it wants to focus on deep-water fields away from the difficulties of operating in close proximity to local communities.

“Disruption of local communities are sources of great concern in the country,” Patrick Pouyanne, TotalEnergies chief executive officer was quoted by Bloomberg as saying on a conference call in April.

Located 20 kilometres off the coast, at a depth of about 20 meters, the Ikike platform is tied back to the existing Amenam offshore facilities through a 14 km multiphase pipeline. It will deliver peak production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of 2022.

The Ikike project leverages existing facilities to keep costs low and is designed to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. Estimated at less than 4kg CO2e/boe, they will contribute to reducing the average carbon intensity of TotalEnergies’ upstream portfolio.

In addition, 95% of the hours were worked locally, the company said, noting that the jacket, as well as the topside modules, were entirely built and integrated by local contractors.

In his reaction, Senior Vice President Africa, Exploration and Production at TotalEnergies’, Henri-Max Ndong-Nzue expressed delight at the prospect of starting the project.

“TotalEnergies is pleased to start production at Ikike, which was launched a few months before the covid pandemic, and whose success owes a lot to the full mobilization of the teams,” he said.

“By tapping discoveries close to existing facilities, this project fits the Company’s strategy of focusing on low-cost and low-emission oil projects.”