Partners in Usan oil field off Nigeria are moving to develop the 2002 discovery, which lies in 750-850 m of water on Oil Mining License 138, about 100 km off the eastern Niger Delta coast.
Development plans for Usan include a floating production, storage, and off- loading vessel with a storage capacity of 2 million bbl of oil. First production is expected in late 2011 with peak production reaching 180,000 b/d of oil. Associated gas will be reinjected.
Coventurers in Usan field deepwater development are operator Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. 20%, Chevron Nigeria Deepwater Ltd. 30%, Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Ltd. 30%, and Nexen Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. 20%.
Nexen estimated its capital investment at $1.6 billion to $2 billion, implying a total project price tag to the group of $8-10 billion.
Nexen also said the government approved conversion of Oil Prospecting License 222 into Oil Mining Leases 138 and 139, each of which covers half the original area of OPL 222. The field is covered by the original production sharing contract issued in 1993, with Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) as concessionaire, and conveys the right to develop and produce crude oil and continue with exploration.
