
By Moses Patience Chat
NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has said that the Company is targeting to produce 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily in 2023 from 8 Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) owned by the Company .
The Managing Director (MD) of NEPL, Mr. Mohammad Ali Zarah, revealed this at the just concluded 4th Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) 2023 hosted by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Zarah also stated that NEPL has 100 percent ownership and operates, including some of the oil mining leases like OML11, 13, 65, 68, 119, 111, and that the Company plans to also complete the drilling of over 60 oil wells between now and 2024.
Zarah, who was represented by the Executive Director (ED) of the Central Technical Division in NEPL, Mr. Ismail U. Mohammed, revealed that the 8 OMLs were located in the six states of the South-South region of Nigeria.
Speaking during a panel session on Upstream Opportunities, he noted that NEPL has a reserve of over 6 billion barrels of crude oil within its assets, comprising of 30 OMLs and OPLs within the South-South region, of which eight are operated solely by the Company, while 22 others are in a Joint Venture (JV) operation with other firms.
According to him, the aim of NEPL is to be the leading exploration and production company with significant global presence, even as the Company is currently operating in Equatorial Guinea. Zarah assured that the Company’s operations will continue to spread across different parts of the world.
He added that the exploration company has a very large footprint about which people are not aware, and that the Company currently owns over 30 OMLs and OPLs in the South-South region, including in Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Edo State, where the head office of NEPL is located.