Nigeria is to start oil exploration outside the Niger Delta for the first time ever as the Aje oil field in Badagry commences operation.
“Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Co. Ltd (YFP) is pleased to announce that it has commenced production of crude oil from its Aje field located in block OML 113 offshore Lagos,” it said late Tuesday.
YFP did not disclose the volume of current output from the field but said the company has capacity to produce 40,000 barrels per day.
“Oil produced from the Aje field will be stored on the Front Puffin which has production capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day and storage capacity of 750,000 barrels,” it added in a statement.
Production began after more than 25 years of exploratory, appraisal and developmental activities in the field, making Lagos- Nigeria’s commercial capital- an oil-producing state.
Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is concentrated in the southern delta states but the region has been dogged by unrest and disruption from militants demanding a fairer share of revenue.
Pipeline attacks and illegal refining or “bunkering” as it is called locally have hit output, which is currently estimated at about 1.8 million barrels a day, according to OPEC.
Nigeria is reliant on oil revenue for its economy but crude earnings have been depleted drastically since the slump in global prices that started in mid-2014.
