OML 130: NNPC signs five deals with partners, eyes $2.1bn investment

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has signed deals for the renewal of the oil mining lease (OML) 130 production sharing contracts (PSC) with five energy firms.

According to the national oil company, the deals align with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021.

The companies are China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO), Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI), Prime 130, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

NNPC said five agreements were signed at a ceremony in Abuja on Thursday, presided over by Gabriel Aduda, permanent secretary, ministry of petroleum resources. 

The deals include a PSC between the national oil company and its contractors, CNOOC and SAPETRO, with TUPNI as the operator, according to a statement from NNPC.

It also includes a head of agreement (HoA) amendment between NNPC, TUPNI, SAPETRO, Prime 130, and CNOOC; and a settlement repayment agreement addendum between NNPC, and its contractors (CNOOC and SAPETRO).

Others are concession contracts for one petroleum prospecting licence (PPL) and three petroleum mining leases (PMLs); and lease and license instruments between NNPC, TUPNI, SAPETRO, Prime 130, and NUPRC.

NNPC said the milestone had paved the way to firm up the final investment decision on the Preowei, amounting to about $2.1 billion, “subsequently to be followed by Egina South projects lined up by TUPNI and the OML 130 partners to introduce additional volumes to the best-in-class Egina Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessel”.

OML 130 is a deepwater block located 130 kilometres offshore Niger Delta at water depths of well over 1000 meters. The block contains the producing Akpo and Egina fields and Preowei discovery.

Formerly known as oil prospecting license (OPL) 246, the asset was awarded in 1998 to SAPETRO and was later converted to OML 130 in February 2005 after the commercial discovery of oil in Akpo and Egina in 2000 and 2003, respectively.

The Akpo field was brought onstream in 2009, while the ultra-deepwater Egina field was sanctioned in 2013 and came onstream in 2018.