Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited intends to boost oil production from the Ofon field from 25,000bpd to 65,000 bpd, with the completion of the Ofon phase 2 wellhead platforms.

According to the company’s Managing Director, Nicholas Terraz, the delivery of the new wellhead platforms will prepare the way for the drilling of an extra 24 wells and increase production to a plateau of 65,000bpd and 3 Mmcf/d of gas.“This delivery is therefore, a key milestone in the Ofon 2 project. For the construction of the Ofon 2 wellhead platforms, over five million man-hours of work were completed with zero lost time injury as so many facilities used in the construction of the platforms were manufactured locally,” he said at the commissioning and sail away ceremony of the platforms.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu, represented by the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Dafe Sejebor, said the project signifies a major stage towards the government’s effort to increase and sustain Nigeria’s per day production goal, particularly in this current phase of declining oil price as well as continuous vandalism and damaging of oil facilities by militants.

For his part, the Chairman of Nigerdock, Anwar Jarmakani, advised the government and oil companies to support the massive investment the company made in infrastructure, technology and manpower training by retaining the more than 3000 personnel trained to accomplish such projects, the Nation news reports.

Anita Fatunji