karambol
/ 83.31.11.* / 2011-05-11 05:54
The Nestoil consortium emerged winners of 45 per cent stake in the oil block sold by the oil majors after a keenly contested bid.
Five blocks, OML 26, 30, 34, 40 and 42 located in the western swamps of the Niger Delta, were hitherto operated by Shell, while French giants Total, Italy’s ENI and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were partners.
While the Nestoil outfit now holds 45 per cent of OML 42, the outstanding 55 per cent of the block, believed to hold over a billion barrels of Crude Oil and over three trillion cubic feet of gas, is held by NNPC.
The block is located onshore in Shell’s western operations near its Forcados terminal in Delta State. Its biggest oil fields are Odidi and Jones Creek. Others are Batan and Egwa.
Nestoil and its partners will be expected to sink more oil wells to maximize output from the fields. Currently one of the fields produces about 26,000 barrels per day. Full production in the block will resume after repairs of vandalised facilities in Niger Delta have been affected.
Other members of the consortium along with Nestoil include Aries Exploration and Production Limited, VP Global Limited, a special purpose vehicle fully owned by the community where the block is situated and KI Nigeria BV/KOV Nigeria, a Polish-based international investment group.
At the signing of the Sales Purchase Agreement last week, Managing Director of Shell Mr Mutiu Sunmonu hailed Nestoil for its tenacity, which has seen it through many challenges encountered during its rise to become the most preferred bidder in a very rigorous bidding process.
Managing Director of Nestoil Plc, Dr. Ernest Azudialu said having come this far, Nestoil would ensure that the venture is successful.
He said the company’s most significant project so far was the successful completion of the Package A section of the $1.1bn Nembe Creek/Cawthorne Channel Trunk-line for the joint venture of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited.
Nestoil is also involved in dredging activities via its sister company, B&Q Dredging Limited. During the execution of the SPDC Egbeleku Engineered Landfill Construction Contract in Delta State, it also engaged in significant dredging activities.