More upstream action under way or planned in Nigeria by units of Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc. has that country poised for an increase in oil productive capacity.
In 1989 Nigeria targeted 20 billion bbl of reserves and productive capacity of 2.5 million b/d by 1994 (OGJ, Jan. 20, p. 67).
The reserves target was achieved last January (OGJ, Apr. 20, p. 41).
Current oil productive capacity is about 2 million b/d.
CHEVRON
Chevron Nigeria plans to add a seventh drilling rig to its Nigeria fleet in 1993 to boost drilling and workover activity there, OPEC News Agency (Opecna) reported.
A Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) official said Chevron will deploy a fourth swamp rig early next year.
In addition to three rigs currently working in Nigeria's swamps, Chevron has three rigs working off Nigeria's Atlantic coast. Of Chevron's current six rig fleet, three are drilling exploratory or development wells and the other three are conducting workovers.
Chevron has drilled five of the 22 wells it's programmed this year in Nigeria.
Of that total, 15 are scheduled in the eastern part of the country and the rest in the west.
The activity points to Chevron's plans to boost its Nigerian production to more than 400,000 b/d by 1995 from the current level of about 307,000 b/d.
TEXACO
Texaco Overseas Petroleum Co. placed five wells on stream off Nigeria, a move expected to hike its crude oil production there to 65,000 b/d, Opecna reported.
Texaco's new wells will push its Nigerian oil production this month from 60,000 b/d, a rate the company has been producing for some time. Texaco now has 54 producing wells in the country.
Opecna reported Texaco recently completed seven wells off Rivers state and is waiting for permission to place them on production.
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