Lagos State is set to join the league of oil
producing states in the country come next year
as the joint venture partners on the Aje Field
offshore Lagos have taken the final investment
decision on the exploration of the field.
A group led by Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum
Company Limited took the FID to develop the
first phase of the Aje shallow water oil field for
$220m.
The aim of the first phase is to produce 10,000
barrels per day of oil from two target wells in the
Oil Mining Lease 113 area. A re-entry of Aje-4
will form the first producer, while drilling of
Aje-5 is expected to be the second.
The plans include the use of Rubicon’s Front
Puffin floating production, storage and
offloading vessel, which produced oil from the
Puffin field in the Timor Sea. The vessel will be
brought up to specification soon, while the
procurement of subsea equipment and the
contracting of a drilling rig are progressing.
The Aje field’s first stage is scheduled to be
brought on stream at the end of 2015.
“We believe that this development is good for
Nigeria generally because our reserves base has
not increased over the years as expected,
because the international oil companies are not
ready to invest since the Petroleum Industry Bill
has not been passed,” an elated Commissioner
for Energy and Mineral Resources, Lagos State,
Mr. Taofiq Tijani, told our correspondent.
Yinka Folawiyo is the operator with 25 per cent
interest in the field. The partners are Vitol, 24.05
per cent; First Hydrocarbons Nigeria Limited,
16.875 per cent; Energy Equity Resources
Limited, 16.875 per cent; Panoro Energy ASA,
12.19 per cent; and Jacka Resources Limited,
five per cent.
The JV partners had in January 2014 submitted
the Field Development Plan for the Aje field to
the Department of Petroleum Resources. The
FDP was approved in March and is primarily
focused on the development of the Cenomanian
oil reservoir.
The FDP envisages first oil commencing in late
2015 with mid-case reserves of 32.4 million
barrels.
The first phase of development includes two
subsea production wells tied back to a leased
FPSO. These wells will most likely comprise the
re-completion of the existing Aje-4 well and a
new well drilled close to the Aje-2 subsurface
location.
In addition, further potential on the block is
being defined following the 3D seismic
acquisition across both OPL 310 and OML 113.
Lagos State had last year established its oil and
gas company following the passage of a bill that
sought to establish the Ibile Oil and Gas
Corporation.
The bill was to authorise the state government to
invest and engage in oil and gas activities.

Arghhhh! Tinubu