NNPC confirms explosion at 10,000mpd OML 40

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has confirmed an explosion at Oil Mining Lease (OML) 40 operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an upstream subsidiary of the corporation.

In a statement on Tuesday signed by Kennie Obateru, group general manager, group public affairs division of NNPC, the explosion occurred while carrying out production evacuation at Gbetiokun early production facility (EPF).

The corporation said there were no fatalities or injuries and no significant spill during the incident.

“There was, however, significant damage to the marine storage vessel, MT Harcourt, which will impact production by about 10,000 barrels per day,” the statement read.

The corporation further said it has commenced investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident with a view to avert future occurrence.

The OML 40 facility involves NPDC’s partner — Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited.

OML 40 lies onshore in the north-western Niger Delta, approximately 65 kilometres northwest of Warri, and covers an area of 498 square kilometres.

Elcrest had completed the acquisition of a 45 percent equity stake in OML 40 in September 2012, and has been producing oil from the Opuama field since 2014.

Eland Oil & Gas announced in 2019 that the Gbetiokun oil field came on stream through an early production facility. It said initial production will increase to 12,000 barrels per day from the Gbetiokun-1 and Gbetiokun-3 wells, while the facility has a nominal capacity of 22,000 barrels per day.