Dipo Olowookere
**Emerges Nigeria’s Leading Oil & Gas Firm
By Dipo Olowookere
Integrated energy group, Aiteo, has announced a peak production of 90kpod just one year after its acquisition of sub-Sharan Africa’s reputedly largest onshore oil bloc OML 29.
Recall that in September 2015, Aiteo acquired OML 29 when Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) fully exited the facility.
At the time of the divestment, average production was 23Kbpod, but Aiteo, one of the frontline sponsors of the just concluded 16th Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference held in Abuja, says it has tripled this figure leveraging the diversity and skills of its work force and bona fides as a dynamic international energy conglomerate.
CEO and Vice Chairman of the firm, Benedict Peters, said the company grew production from 23kbbl/d upon takeover of operations to a peak of 90Kbbl/d in one year.
He also highlighted several existing and developing projects that could potentially grow Aiteo’s asset production to over 150 kbopd and 200mmscf/d.
“Our outlook is bright with 3 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 1.6bn bbl.
“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,” Mr Peters said.
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 & gas value chain into a world-class landscape,” Mr Peters added.
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: “Our growth drivers remain strong leadership, high commitment and motivation, technical and commercial excellence and superior asset base.
“In the next five years, our operations will continue to be guided by these qualities as we leverage our capabilities comparable to oil majors elsewhere in the world. Indeed, the future is Aiteo.”
In the interim, Aiteo says it is developing a pipeline of power generation projects across Nigeria. The company 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.
