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TotalEnergies launches new drilling at Akpo field in Nigeria

By , based on Business Day Nigeria

TotalEnergies launches new drilling at Akpo field in NigeriaIllustrative image · Khaya Motsa · Pexels · Licence Pexels

TotalEnergies has moved the drillship Noble Black Rhino to the Akpo oil and gas field, off Nigeria, for a new campaign. Drilling of the AFE-1X well is due to begin on 13 November, after the ship's arrival on 3 November, according to TotalEnergies cited by Business Day Nigeria.

TotalEnergies has transferred the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Black Rhino to the Akpo field, off Nigeria, to launch a new drilling campaign there, the French company announced. The ship arrived on site on 3 November at 6am, after a journey of 738 nautical miles from Ivory Coast and its entry into Nigerian waters the day before, according to a statement published on the group's Facebook page.

Drilling of a well named AFE-1X is due to start on 13 November, with preparations continuing to reach full operational capacity, TotalEnergies specifies, describing this arrival as an important milestone for its deepwater operations. The Akpo field is located on oil mining lease PML 2, about 150 kilometres offshore, and has been producing since March 2009. TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Ltd. operates it with a 24% stake, alongside China's CNOOC (45%), Prime 130 (16%) and South Atlantic Petroleum Ltd. (15%); the Nigerian National Petroleum Company is the concessionaire of the production sharing contract.

Akpo is a major source of condensates and natural gas, notably used as feedstock for the Nigeria LNG facilities. In February 2024, TotalEnergies had started production there at Akpo West, connected to the existing floating platform, with an expected contribution of 14,000 barrels of condensates per day and up to 4 million cubic metres of gas daily by 2028. According to the NNPC, the main field produced 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023.

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