By Adewale Sanyaolu
Aiteo at the weekend announced a peak production of 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its initial 25,000bpd when it acquired the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Vice Chairman of Aiteo, Mr. Benedict Peters, said this in Abuja, adding that the firm could equally grow its asset production to over 150,000bpd and 200mmscf/d when the several existing and developing projects come on stream.
“Our outlook is bright with three producing oil fields and viable crude exports via Bonny terminal. We also have contingent resources to appraise and prospective ones to explore in the medium-to-long term, including full 3D coverage and 2P NNS reserves at 1.6billion barrels. Put simply, we have a clear vision for the future with the experience and assets crucial to providing oil and gas consistently on a regional and global scale.
Aiteo’s ambitious five-year objectives include tackling the power challenges in Nigeria head-on through its legacy investments in the gas-to-power value chain. “This is a testament to our commitment to the transformation of the entire oil and gas value chain into a world-class landscape,” Peters added. Recall that the company’s main subsidiary, Aiteo Eastern E&P, is also a major infrastructure provider for Nigeria’s oil industry as the operator of the 97km Nembe Creek Trunk Line, an industry-wide evacuation pipeline for produced fluids covering much of the country’s Eastern Delta region.
Aiteo’s Group Managing Director Mr. Chike Onyejekwe, said its growth drivers remain strong leadership, high commitment and motivation, technical and commercial excellence and superior asset base, adding that in the next five years, its operations will continue to be guided by these qualities as it leverages on capabilities comparable to oil majors elsewhere in the world .
Meanwhile, Aiteo says it is developing a pipeline of power generation projects across Nigeria. The company said it is confident that its significant gas resources at OML 29 will transform the country’s oil rich Niger Delta region into a power generation hub of repute before long.