By Adewale Sanyaolu
Nigeria’s oil production figure now on a downward trend over the past few months may witness a spike as Odu’a Investment Company Limited (OICL) hinted it would produce its first oil in January 2023.
Group Managing Director (GMD) of OICL, Mr. Adewale Raji, disclosed this when he featured as special guest on Splash FM, Radio Show, Parrot Xtra/Ayekooto at the weekend.
In 2020, OICL floated an oil and gas exploration with a production subsidiary, BITA Exploration and Production Limited.
The new firm emerged successful at the 2020 marginal field bid round where it was awarded a 40-million barrel marginal field located in Ondo State alongside an operating partner.
Raji said the license for exploration and production was issued in year 2020, while the signature bonus has been fully paid with its other partners.
‘‘The plans on the ground now are how to hit the first oil and it does not come easy, it requires some technical processes, which do not consume naira but dollars.
The technicality and financial side of it is what we are now sorting out with our partners and the whole idea is that in 18months from January 2023 we should be producing our first oil’’.
The Board Chairman and the GMD of OICL, Dr. Olusegun Aina and Mr. Adewale Raji, jointly unveiled the oil firm and two other new businesses at OICL’s 45th anniversary commemorative lecture in Lagos in September 2020.
The two other firms included; South West Agricultural Company (SWAGCO) Limited, and South West Innovation and Technology (SWIT).
Managing Director of BITA Exploration & Production, Mr. Andy Boyo, had disclosed at the event via a recorded audio-video message that the company was currently engaging with Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), the original owner of the asset, on the farm-out agreement negotiation to enable it take operatorship of the field.
“We are still at an early stage. We are negotiating with Chevron, who originally owns the field and the negotiation is for the farm-out agreement negotiation. We want them to come to an agreement with us for us to run that field,” Boyo said.
He added that based on the Competent Person’s Report (CPR), the field has about 40 million barrels of oil, with offsides that had not been investigated, stressing that the potential for the field was for a long time.
Boyo further revealed that the firm has signed a 15-year lease agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), noting that the field was profitable and worth investing in for oil search.
“So, as a matter of potential, based on the CPR, which is one of the Competent Persons Reports, it has about 40 million barrels of oil in that field and there is an offside that we haven’t investigated yet.
“So, the potential for that field is for the long time. I think we have a 15-year lease agreement with NNPC, and to run further than that is very possible. I think it’s a very good field to invest in if you have an eye to invest in oil search,” he added.
Highlighting the essence of setting up BITA, Aina said the firm was a special purpose vehicle integrated through a partnership initiated by Pioneer Global Energy Resources and Odu’a Investment Company Limited.
He said the company incorporated in 2021 was established following the 2021 marginal oilfield bid round conducted by the Federal Government through the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
He stated that BITA was expected to help OICL create Southwest presence in the oil and gas sector, which is one of its focal business sectors.
He added that the company was poised to work closely with oil giants such as Shell, Chevron, and others to achieve its target oil and gas production volumes.