The new onshore hydrocarbon discovery in the Niger Delta equates to approximately one trillion cubic feet of gas and 60 million barrels of associated condensate
Image: Eni find significant gas and condensates onshore Niger Delta. Photo: courtesy of D Thory/Pixabay.
Eni and its partners in the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) joint venture (JV) have made a gas and condensate discovery in the onshore OML61 license in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
The Italian oil and gas giant said that the discovery was made in the deeper sequences of the Obiafu-Obrikom fields. This was after drilling the Obiafu-41 Deep well to a total depth of up to 4,374m, at which it intersected a gas and condensate accumulation within the deltaic sequence of Oligocene age.
The accumulation intersected by the Obiafu-41 well is made up of more than 130m of high quality hydrocarbon-bearing sands, said Eni.
The Nigerian gas and condensate discovery amounts to nearly one trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas and 60 million barrels of associated condensate in the deep drilled sequences, according to the Italian oil and gas giant.
The Obiafu-41 Deep well is expected to deliver over 100 million standard cubic feet/day of gas and 3,000 barrels/day of associated condensates. The joint venture plans to immediately put the well on-stream to boost its gas production.
Eni, in a statement, said: “The discovery is part of a drilling campaign planned by NAOC JV and aimed at exploring near-field and deep pool opportunities as immediate time to market opportunities.”
Stakeholders in the Niger Delta license
The Italian oil and gas company is the operator of the NAOC JV with 20% stake. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) holds 60% stake, while Oando Energy Resources holds the remaining 20% stake.
In 1965, exploration in OML 61 started with the Ebocha oil and gas condensate discovery. In the early 1970s, exploration was carried on in the Niger Delta license with the discovery of the Obiafu-Obrikom (or Ob-Ob), Idu and Oshi fields.
Eni, which has been operating in Nigeria since 1962, had an equity hydrocarbon production of 100,000 boe/day in 2018. The company’s operated and non-operated production, development and exploration activities are spread over a total of 30,049km2 in the onshore and offshore areas of the Niger Delta.