Mobil Producing Nigeria and Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) have obtained financing for more than half of the $900 million estimated cost to develop big Oso gas/condensate field off Nigeria.
The Mobil Corp. unit and NNPC last week signed agreements with international government and commercial banks for $530 million.
Mobil expects to complete another $65 million in financing later this year.
Among present lenders is World Bank, Washington, whose loan to NNPC is the bank's first for an upstream oil project in Nigeria.
Field site is on Oil Mining Lease (OML) 70, 35 miles off Southeast Nigeria.
WHAT'S PLANNED
Mobil Nigeria, operator in a 60-40 venture with NNPC, plans to start Oso production early in 1993, aiming for a plateau volume of 100,000 b/d of condensate. Gas will be reinjected to maintain reservoir pressure.
Mobil said gas resources will amount to about 3.5 tcf after condensate depletion.
The Oso development plan calls for installation of eight platforms, a condensate pipeline to the Qua Iboe terminal, condensate storage tanks at the terminal, export facilities, and a low pressure gas gathering system connecting producing fields on OMLs 67 and 70 with Oso.
Facilities will have a capacity of 300 MMcfd from Oso, which along with another 200 MMcfd from other Mobil operated fields will supply gas for reinjection.
Project implementation began last summer, when the Mobil-NNPC combine let the prime construction contract, valued at about $400 million, to MBJ Consortium. MBJ is made up of McDermott Inc. of the U.S., Bouygues Offshore SA of France, and JGC Corp. of Japan (OGJ, July 9, 1990, p. 29).
Payments to the contractor to date have come from equity contributions by Mobil and NNPC.
The Mobil-NNPC team has delineated Oso, a 1967 discovery, with seismic surveys, seismic 3-D modeling, and seven appraisal wells.
Mobil Nigeria has a productive capacity of 270,000 b/d. With Oso and other projects under development, its productive capacity is expected to climb to 525,000 b/d by 1995.
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