Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria Ltd. flashed the green light for a $1 billion development of the EA oil and gas field in the Niger Delta.
The field lies 90 km south of Warri in shallow water and is one of a number of Nigerian projects put forward earlier in the year by Shell under an $8.5 billion program (OGJ, Feb. 15, 1999, p. 32).
Shell said that it discovered the field in 1965 but that the complex geological setting prohibited early development. The company cited new drilling technology as the key to making the field economically viable.
A Shell official told OGJ that the field would be developed with a number of platforms linked to shore by oil and gas pipelines. Oil will be exported through links to existing terminals, while gas is earmarked for supply to the Nigeria LNG export scheme, which came on stream last month (OGJ, Oct. 25, 1999, p. 30).
EA field has estimated reserves of 350 million boe and is due on stream in the second half of 2002. It is expected to yield 120,000 bo/d and 100 MMcfd of gas when fully developed.
