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Following the one-billion-dollar acquisition of OML 17from Shell last month, Heirs Oil & Gas Ltd. has pledged to boost production from the onshore block to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Success in achieving the production target would not only restore the block to its peak production level, but also make Heirs Oil & Gas Ltd. one of the largest indigenous operators in the country by output, alongside Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Atlas Petroleum International and Oranto Petroleum, Aiteo Eastern E&P, Shoreline and First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company.
“Our focus is to try to take this asset back to its peak production levels within a reasonable timeframe,” said Samuel Nwanze, CFO of Heirs Oil & Gas Ltd.
The oil and gas company aims to achieve its target through the procurement of new and more effective equipment, which had fallen by the wayside under Shell.
Heirs Oil & Gas Ltd. – a joint venture between Heirs Holdings and Transcorp – purchased a 45% stake in the block last month, after securing $1.1 billion from an amalgamation of lenders, including the United Bank of Nigeria, African Export-Import Bank and Standard Chartered Plc. The deal made headlines, as it represented one of the largest oil and gas financings in Africa in more than a decade, particularly in which a Nigerian firm acquired the assets of an international oil major.
Since the Federal Government enacted its Local Content Law in 2010, indigenous operators in Nigeria have made substantial contributions to domestic hydrocarbon output. Pre-COVID-19, independent firms were producing 400,000 bpd, accounting for about one-fifth of the country’s crude oil production.
