Robert Brelsford
Downstream Technology Editor
Seplat Petroleum Development Co. PLC (SPDC) has signed shareholder and share subscription agreements with Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) subsidiary Nigerian Gas Processing & Transportation Co. (NGPTC) to enter an incorporated joint venture for ANOH Gas Processing Co. Ltd. (AGPC), a company founded in 2017 for the purpose of processing future wet gas production from the upstream unitized gas fields at SPDC-operated oil mining lease (OML) 53 and Royal Dutch Shell PLC-operated OML 21 onshore in the northeastern Niger Delta.
As part of the agreement, signed on Aug. 13, NGPTC will subscribe for 50% of shares in AGPC, SPDC said.
Alongside the signed shareholder agreement—which will govern SPDC and NGPTC’s respective interests in the AGPC incorporated JV—SPDC confirmed it signed other commercial agreements with NNPC and Nigerian Gas Marketing Co., all of which collectively form an important precursor to final Investment decision for the ANOH project.
One of the largest greenfield gas and condensate developments in Nigeria for supplying critical and much needed gas volumes to be internally consumed in country into a growing domestic market, the ANOH project is scheduled for FID during fourth-quarter 2018, SPDC said.
If approved, the ANOH project development aims to deliver about 3.4 bcfd of gas by 2020, NNPC said in a separate release.
Overview
Covering an area of about 1,585 sq km onshore in Imo state in the northeastern Niger Delta, about 60 km north of Port Harcourt, OML 53 includes Jisike field, located in the northwestern area of the block, which currently is the lease’s only producing field.
Existing infrastructure at Jisike includes flowlines, phase-one separation facilities, and a flow station with a design capacity of 12,000 b/d for oil and 8 MMcfd for gas. Oil production is sent for further processing at the nearby Izombe facilities on OML 124, from where it is exported via pipeline to the Brass oil terminal.
The block also contains the large undeveloped Ohaji South gas and condensate field, the development of which will be coordinated with SPDC-operated Assa North field on adjacent OML 21, together referred to as the ANOH project.
There is also shallow oil development potential at Ohaji South that could be pursued as a separate standalone project in the near term, according to SPDC’s web site.
Before initiating development of the ANOH project, SPDC said it expects to focus efforts on increasing oil production at Jisike field and development of shallow oil reservoirs in Ohaji South.
Operator SPDC holds a 40% working interest in OML 53, with NNPC holding the remaining 60% interest.