The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its joint venture Chevron Nigeria Limited have made a near field oil discovery with the successful drilling of the Meji NW-1 well within the shallow offshore the Niger Delta region.
In a statement released on Friday, both parties said the well which was spud on September 2, 2024, has reached a total depth of 8,983 feet while operations were completed on October 2nd.
The drilling encountered approximately 690 feet of hydrocarbons within Miocene sands, appraising an extension of the already productive Meji field.
The latest oil discovery comes as a boost for Nigeria and reflects the contrast with Chevron’s peers such as Shell, ExxonMobil, Total Energy and Equinox whoare leaving the Niger Delta waters opportunities in Nigeria for less risky ventures in Namibia and Guyana.
NNPC Limited had on Monday said it signed a deal with its Joint Venture partner, Chevron Nigeria Ltd, CNL, for the conversion of five of its JV assets into the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) terms.
A statement by Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye disclosed that the deal is expected to significantly boost crude oil production, with the two partners focusing on attaining the 165,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) production target by year-end 2024.
Soneye explained that the deal is in line with PIA 2021 provisions of transiting assets from the Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) into PIA terms stating that under the new PIA regime, all existing Oil Prospecting Licenses, OPLs, and Oil Mining Leases, OMLs, would be automatically converted to Petroleum Prospecting Licenses, PPLs, and Petroleum Mining Leases, PMLs, upon their expiration.
He said: “Nonetheless, an option of voluntary conversion is provided for holders of OPLs and OMLs (Operator, Licensees or Lessees) under the erstwhile Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) regime. The PIA terms are generally perceived as more investor-friendly, compared to the erstwhile PPTA terms.
“During a brief ceremony held at the NNPC Towers on Monday, the two partners signed documents on the conversion of five OMLs into four PPLs and twenty-six PMLs, in line with the new PIA terms, marking a significant step towards increasing domestic gas supply and expanding global market presence.”
