London, UK |- French multinational oil and energy group Total will formally approve a decision to proceed with the Ikike project in the OML 99 licence offshore Nigeria.
The company has earmarked the 60,000bpd Ikike project for a final investment decision (FID).
Other projects earmarked for FID include the deepwater Preowei project, which will have a capacity of 70,000bpd and is expected to help Total increase its oil production.
Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne was quoted by Reuters as saying: “There is a huge potential in Nigeria, it is probably the most prolific country in West Africa in terms of oil and gas and it is time to launch new projects and we are working on many of them.”
The development comes after Total and its partners started production from the Egina oilfield located offshore Nigeria, earlier this month.
Being developed using floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, the field lies in a water depth of 1,600m. It is capable of producing 200,000 barrels of oil a day at the plateau.
Pouyanne said that the company also has plans for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project expansion in Nigeria.
Adding that the oil and gas sector had been inactive in Nigeria in recent years with regard to exploration and new projects over uncertainties, Pouyanne is urging Nigeria to issue new exploration licences to the company.
Total is also developing its first oilfield in Uganda with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The company is expected to make an FID this year on whether to start production.
