San Leon Satisfied with Nigeria Asset
UK-listed San Leon Energy, which reduced its exposure to European shale gas projects last year in favour of conventional assets, has provided an update April 19 on the indirect 9.72% stake in Nigeria’s onshore OML 18 project which it acquired six months ago; but it said nothing more about a takeover approach received four months ago.
It said OML 18 is currently producing some 56,000 b/d oil before downtime and pipeline losses. Including the latter, it produced only 30,969 b/d in 2016. Current gas sales are 50mn ft3/d, it said, having averaged 41.6mn ft3/d (or 7,000 boe/d) in 2016. All figures are for OML 18 at 100% equity. Other small fields on OML 18 have either started up, or are planned to, in the course of 2017.
Operator Eroton is evaluating alternative oil pipeline routes, prompted by some downtime at the Bonny Terminal and intermittent upstream outages on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line pipe to the terminal last year, noted San Leon.
It had received $5mn from its Nigerian partners in the six months since acquiring its 9.72% interest, noting that several were still owed money by state NNPC for oil deliveries in 2015-16.
Photo credit: San Leon Energy
San Leon CEO Oisin Fanning (pictured above) said that "notwithstanding a demanding operating environment in Nigeria and the challenges that Eroton has encountered, we are encouraged by Eroton's flexibility and implementation of activities to maximise cash flow" at OML 18 asset.
Mark Smedley